MegaMan NT Warrior: Adamant Enigma
by Rydrake Kyuubi
Summary: AU.  After LaserMan's defeat, another problem arises.  A powerful NetNavi threatens on destroying humanity.  MegaMan must now not only protect the humans, but Bass's younger twin as well, as she unknowingly holds the key.  Can he manage this without Lan?
1. New Friend, Old Foe

Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "[abc]"

**NOTE FROM RYDRAKE:** I will warn you now, I am unaware of the events after the _Axess_ season, as _Stream, Beast, and Beast+_ never received an English adaption. I am also unable to find any episodes with English subs, so no flames or anything similar.

Chapter 1:  
New Friend, Old Foe

"Mr. Wily, what on Earth is that?" Mr. Match asks.

"Glad you asked. Pay close attention everyone. I've called you all here today because we are going to reunite WWW! Inside this mass of Bug Fragments left over from the Gospel incident is a Net Navi related to Bass. If this sibling Navi has Bass's powers, we will become unstoppable for sure! Muahahahaha!" Mr. Wily replies.

Mr. Match, Yahoot, Maddy, and Count Zap are standing before a large computer being controlled by Wily while the Bug Frag mass sits in a dimensional tank anchored onto the computer. The mass stands at 6'03" and its width is at 5'06"; the cylindrical tank is only 7'00" and 5'08" wide. Wily is currently decoding the mass to unlock the NetNavi trapped inside it.

"Uh look, Mr. Wily, I'm not up for reuniting to be truthful. It's much easier running the Curry Shop with Yahoot and not being beaten over and over by MegaMan." Count Zap speaks out.

"I agree with him; bringing back WWW means getting our asses beat again." Mr. Match joins in.

"Even WackoMan is still trying to recover from the last battle I had with another NetOp; he's had enough." Maddy says.

"Hey, thanks for looking out for me, sweetie!" WackoMan replies.

"I have to agree with the others; we retired from WWW and its ways." Yahoot says.

"Ah, you're all completely worthless! Ah, I've cracked the code! Let's see what we have!" Mr. Wily says, as he types in the last few codes.

Inside the tank, small electrical bolts shoot at the mass rapidly. Soon, the mass moves, and a scream is heard. The mass bursts open, all its data being deleted instantly, as a curled up Navi is revealed from the deleted mess. The helmet is exactly like Bass's, along with a cloak surrounding the curled up Navi as it floats in place. The Navi soon slowly makes contact with the ground sitting up, lifting up its head. It angrily throws the cloak off itself, revealing its body. It is slightly smaller than Bass, with a much blacker outfit. The rings around the bottom part of the legs, the single "wrist band" around the busters, and the shoulder armor is a light purple color. The two lines running down from the emblem crest to the rings on the legs are a cyan color. Where the purple stripes would be on Bass's face is instead magenta on this Navi. The would-be gloves are more on the line of mittens. The crest soon gains an image of three blackberries against a green background. It also appears to have a flat chest, which keeps its gender hidden. The Navi soon opens its eyes, revealing the intense blue color. It looks around, seeing the group.

It speaks revealing its feminine voice, "Who are you guys? And where am I?"

"Aw! Oh my goodness, she's absolutely adorable! Look at how big and blue her eyes are!" Maddy says, instantly falling for the Navi.

"Hey Maddy, don't forget me!" WackoMan calls out.

"Going in order, I am Yahoot. Next to me with the yellow hair is Count Zap. Next to him with the red wavy hair is Mr. Match, and finally next to him is Maddy. Next to you, however, is Mr. Wily, the leader of WWW." Yahoot replies.

"Hmm, I'm not liking these stats of yours." Mr. Wily says, tapping into the Navi's stats on the computer.

"What do you mean, Mr. Wily?" the Navi asks, looking up at him.

"Your power is absolutely poor. You are definitely a pathetic version of your brother, Bass." Mr. Wily replies.

"Whoa, I have a brother?" the Navi says.

"Yes, and he's very powerful. He's a Solo Navi just like you, lassie. Hey, what's your name by the way?" Mr. Match says.

"My name? I…I don't have one." the Navi answers.

"Whatever. Look, you can stay here in this space I've created in the computer for now. I need to figure out what to do with you." Mr. Wily says, typing a code to allow the nameless Navi into the customized space.

The Navi gladly teleports inside the customized space page, soon finding it's fairly small. Mr. Wily exits the area while the still-retired WWW members jack-in their NetNavis. Upon touch down, TorchMan is immediately not into meeting the new Navi, due to her low power. The others, however, start to converse.

"Well hello there, sweetie. I am WackoMan. This magician to my left id MagicMan, and to me right, this fine fellow is ElecMan. Um, apparently behind us is TorchMan." WackoMan introduces, soon realizing TorchMan is keeping his distance.

"You guys all look strong and cool! Hey, you think you could give me a name?" the Navi says.

"I got one for ya, kid. That emblem of yours gave me the idea in an instant; why not Blackberry?" Count Zap says, approaching the computer.

"Hey yeah, that's not a bad idea." ElecMan says.

"Kind of an odd name for a Navi though." MagicMan says.

"Uh dude, remember the N1 Grand Prix? There was a NetNavi called ShingingMan." ElecMan says with a look.

"…Good point." MagicMan agrees.

"Hmm…Blackberry…I like it! Hey, you guys wanna play with me?" Blackberry accepts, soon looking for action.

"Why not! Here, try and catch this!" WackoMan quickly agrees and launches his ball.

Blackberry quickly starts to chase it, being followed by ElecMan and WackoMan. MagicMan joins TorchMan, as he isn't one for play. TorchMan knows that Mr. Wily plans to delete Blackberry, if not force her power to increase. MagicMan is more wary of Mr. Wily deleting her, as she is new and wouldn't have much skill to start with just because. The two look out at the other three playing catch.

Later that day, as night starts to arrive, Blackberry is resting peacefully in her space in the computer, lying in a cyber bean-bag chair version of WackoMan's ball. The retired WWW members have left the base earlier on. Mr. Wily returns to his computer, seeing Blackberry asleep. He checks her stats once more, unable to believe she's no stronger than a NormalNavi program, despite having a couple of moves: Ninja Smoke, which is a smokescreen and allows quick escapes, and Holy Aura, which blocks most attacks until a strong enough one breaks through it. Her other stats including HP, Attack, etc, are all equal to NormalNavis. He then pulls up a window that asks for the Power Up Program to start, while another one is opened asking to delete the Navi.

Mr. Wily looks at the windows, and makes his decision. As he is about to press the button to okay the deletion, a guitar pick flies across the room and hits his hand, stopping him from deleting Blackberry. Mr. Wily turns around, and finds Count Zap, ready for a battle. Blackberry suddenly wakes up, seeing the Deletion Window open and flips out, crying for the other Navis.

"I won't let you delete her, Wily." Count Zap says.

"Give me a break, Count Zap. She's more worthless than you and the others are. Why should I spare her?" Mr. Wily says.

"Because you're about to get the shock of your life. Now, ElecMan!"

Inside the computer's mainframe, ElecMan is standing in front of the large electric tower he occasionally has set behind him in order to give him more power. He takes action, the tower feeding him more electricity, and ElecMan fires his electric bolts all around the mainframe, soon getting it to short circuit. He is able to take out the power in the base, but just as the computer is about to shut down, he races to Blackberry's space, grabs onto her, and logs out with her to his PET. Just as the base goes dark, Count Zap has his outfit light up in order to blind Mr. Wily, and take off at the same time with both Navis at hand.

An hour later in his hot air balloon, he and ElecMan are able to calm down the traumatized Navi. They are currently over the ocean, making their way to Count Zap's home. However, the wind is slightly rough, forcing the balloon off course.

"I just don't understand! Why would he wanna delete me?" Blackberry asks, still upset.

"It's because you're not as strong as he thought you were. You see, your brother, Bass, is near invincible, while you're not even close. You're no stronger than most starting NormalNavis." Count Zap explains.

"Well what does that old bastard expect; I was just born dammit!" Blackberry shouts.

"Easy, kid. Look, I'm not sure what this PET is going to do to you. What we plan on doing is creating you your own page back at home so you can remain a Solo Navi. Until we get in touch with the right people, you may be able to have a PET of your own someday." ElecMan says.

"I dunno. This area's pretty small…I don't think I'd like being in a PET." Blackberry says. She sighs and continues, "All I feel like doping in confronting Bass and join him."

"You will at some point. He's constantly moving throughout the Net, so you'll run into him. But for now, let's get you to a safer place." Count Zap says.

"Hey, Count Zap? Could I call you 'Zappy' instead?" Blackberry asks.

ElecMan nearly chuckles at this, but is astonished when his NetOp replies, "I think I can manage that. Hey, when we get home, I'll let you design your page; just tell me and ElecMan what to do."

"Okay! And maybe we can train together so I can gain some defenses!" Blackberry says excitedly.

A month soon passes by, bringing in the summer season. Lan, Dex, Maylu, and Yai, are hanging out near a park. Yai is able to visit for the summer by staying at her mansion. Rush soon appears a few feet away and dashes over to the group, jumping into Maylu's lap. However, something isn't right, and he tries to tell Maylu this.

"What's the matter, Rush? You look agitated." Maylu says.

"[I found this strange Navi in the Net! You gotta check it out!]" Rush replies.

"What does he want?" Lan asks.

Rush gets annoyed, not being able to be understood. He creates a hole, jumps into it, and reappears on Maylu's PET, pulling up a screen showing the Navi. Everyone is astonished by the Navi, thinking it's Bass.

"There's no way Rush ran into Bass!" Lan says.

"Wait, I don't think that's him guys. Take another look; the colors are different, and the face is young and feminine. Even the eyes are big." Roll says, nearly analyzing the Navi.

"She's right. Look at them emblem on its chest; that's not Bass's symbol." Yai says, taking a closer look.

"Then who is this NetNavi, Guts?" GutsMan asks.

"Glyde, can you find any information on it?" Yai asks.

"I'm only finding very little information, but her program is different from what I've seen." Glyde replies.

"What do you mean her program's different?" Lan asks.

"Well, in short, most NetNavis are programmed for certain things. Take me for example; I'm more of a butler to Miss Yai than a battler like MegaMan. Her program is actually difficult for me to read with what Rush has given us." Glyde explains.

"Lan, I think I'm sensing the Navi nearby. Try jacking me into that street light." MegaMan calls out.

"If you say so." Lan says standing up. "Okay then! Jack-In, MegaMan! Power Up!"

MegaMan is jacked into the street light via infrared rays. Upon arrival, he sees the Navi wandering around with a scared look.

He calls over to her, "Hey you there! What's going on?"

The Navi freaks and jumps a mile, not expecting to be found or even talked to. She looks over at the famous Blue Bomber as he cautiously approaches. The closer he gets, the more scared the Navi became. She quickly uses Holy Aura in order to protect herself and keep MegaMan away. Although she is standing, she covers her head and closes her eyes in fear.

"Hey, easy. I'm not gonna hurt you at all. I just wanna talk." MegaMan says calmly.

"That's what the last NetNavi said and he unleashed hell on me! I was almost deleted!" the Navi replies.

"I can assure you, I won't. Can you at least tell me your name? My friends and I are curious about you." MegaMan asks.

The Navi looks at him and replies, "It's Blackberry. My name is Blackberry."

Soon the other NetNavis are jacked into the area, scaring Blackberry further. She quickly uses Ninja Smoke, blinding the others in a thick Somescreen. This only infuriates GutsMan, and concerns MegaMan as he isn't planning on fighting. Dex downloads the GutsHammer Battle Chip, and GutsMan does not hesitate on using it. Lan downloads a Barrier Battle Chip, and MegaMan uses it to block GutsMan's attack. This works, till the fissure finds a way around the barrier and strikes Blackberry, canceling her Holy Aura. The smokescreen clears, and GutsMan wastes no time in charging at the frightened Navi. She ducks and covers her head, till Maylu downloads an Aqua Tower Battle Chip. Roll uses this, summoning it right under GutsMan and forcing him into the air. He comes down fast and hits the ground.

"Damn it GutsMan, you made things worse!" Roll says.

"Yes, our sudden appearance must've given her quite a shock." Glyde says.

"Yeah GutsMan, what's your deal today? You've been attacking everything that moves all day!" Dex says.

"Guts guts…GutsMan must be in mood today…" GutsMan replies.

"Either way, it doesn't give you the right to attack something innocent." MegaMan says.

Glyde and Roll make their way over to MegaMan and Blackberry, being careful not to make her react again. Blackberry looks up at the Navis, being reassured by their friendly smiles. She stands up, but hides behind MegaMan.

"This could take a while, guys." MegaMan says.

"We've got all day." Lan says.

After a few minutes, the Navis had formed a circle with Blackberry explaining her part as to why she's in DenTech City. She first tells them what happened a month ago with the still disbanded WWW, which doesn't seem to surprise everyone as Wily is still an issue.

"But after all that mess, I've been living with Zappy and ElecMan. I have my own little page in the computer system which is blocked off by viruses and other evil things, as well as other NetNavis, unless I've given the okay. The two have been taking good care of me since, but, something happened that separated me from them, and I've been looking for the two ever since." Blackberry explains.

"I'm surprised Count Zap and ElecMan have become so docile." Roll says.

"But what about this thing that separated you from them?" MegaMan asks.

Blackberry lowers her head, then looks up and replies, "It all happened so fast. I think another NetNavi hacked into the system and just ripped me away when I was most vulnerable. All I can remember is he was really big…bigger than Gutsy over there."

"Bigger than GutsMan?" Dex asks.

"Oh yeah, way big! I can't describe the shape because I used Ninja Smoke and managed to escape. Problem was, he had brought Viruses with him that blocked me off from Zappy's computer system, so I had no choice but to escape into the Net. I then came across a NetNavi that looked like a shark, and when he said what Mega said, he attacked for no reason! So I ran off again, logging into whatever safe space I could find." Blackberry replies.

"Wait, I think I know who you're talking about. The Navi that said what I said was is SharkMan, Commander Beef's NetNavi." MegaMan says.

"THEN HIS NETOP'S AN ASSHOLE!" Blackberry shouts.

"Easy Blackberry. I'm curious, though. Your program is much different than ours." Glyde mentions.

"My program? Yeah…apparently I'm Bass's sister. I think Mr. Wily calls it a Sibling Program." Blackberry answers.

The Navi and their NetOps freak, "You're Bass's sister?"

"Gyyaaaahhh! You make it sound like it's bad!" Blackberry yells.

"Holy shit guys, we can't let her stay in the Net now!" Lan says, still freaking out.

"That's why I've been following her." a voice emits.

Another NetNavi arrives, and this time it's ProtoMan. Outside, Chaud had arrived, finally being able to locate Blackberry again. He approaches the gang in his usual calm way.

"Chaud, what are you doing here?" Lan asks.

"I've been following Blackberry for a few weeks now. ProtoMan and I knew from just looking at her she's related to Bass. She's been all over Net City, trying to find data streams going in and out, but she hasn't had much luck. I've had ProtoMan stick to the shadows to keep an eye on her." Chaud replies.

"So then, would you know of the Navi that separated her from Count Zap?" Dex asks.

"Wait, she's been with Count Zap?" Chaud asks.

Inside the street light, Blackberry tries to hide behind Glyde, as he is facing in ProtoMan's direction.

"So what Chaud said is true? You've been tailing her?" Roll asks.

"Yes. Though overhearing just now, I had no idea she was under Count Zap's care. But protecting her isn't the only reason I've been ordered to be her shadow." ProtoMan answers.

"What do you mean?" Glyde asks.

"I've done a lot of tracking thanks to SharkMan constantly showing up. Apparently his NetOp has dug up some data saying that Blackberry has a secret destructive move, but this isn't true, as she would've used it by now, taking Net City with her." ProtoMan explains.

"…It's true. If I had such a thing, we wouldn't be talking right now." Blackberry says.

"Then we need to convince SharkMan and Commander Beef that Blackberry is completely harmless!" MegaMan says.

"Otherwise I'm shark bait…" Blackberry says, cowering behind Glyde.


	2. Chain of Sparks

Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "[abc]"

**NOTE FROM RYDRAKE:** I will warn you now, I am unaware of the events after the _Axess_ season, as _Stream, Beast, and Beast+_ never received an English adaption. I am also unable to find any episodes with English subs, so no flames or anything similar.

Chapter 2:  
Chain of Sparks

"If that plan's ever going to work, you may have to defeat him in battle to get him to listen. I've tried to confront him myself on several occasions; it's impossible." ProtoMan says.

"I don't get it though, " Lan starts, "Commander Beef only appears when some big evil thing is about to happen, like with StoneMan and BlasterMan. Why would he constantly chase after something harmless?"

"SharkMan must be sensing something, but I don't sense anything." MegaMan says.

GutsMan stands up and announces, "Then we will take down SharkMan, and shove all this nonsense down his throat! Guts guts GUTS!"

"Yeah, that's the spirit GutsMan!" Dex cheers on.

"There's just one problem." Chaud says.

"What is it?" Yai asks.

"SharkMan isn't the easiest NetNavi to find. I'm afraid Blackberry needs to become temporary shark bait." Chaud replies.

"YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS! Last thing I want is to be eaten alive like in the movie!" Blackberry shouts.

"How do you know about the JAWS movie?" Dex asks.

"Zappy had a DVD of it and we watched it one night among other thrillers. I like the zombie one, Return of the Living Dead, with that black zombie and the guy that goes 'it's all black and slimy!'" Blackberry says.

"So say you saw a ZombieNavi right now. What would you do?" Yai asks.

"...Uhm...whack it's head off?" Blackberry guesses.

"But that didn't work to the naked zombie in the beginning that screamed the whole time." ProtoMan says, getting smart.

Blackberry's face goes white out of fear and being put on the spot. Just then, she starts to stare at ProtoMan's sunglasses. He looks at her confused as she stands with a curious and determined look. MegaMan starts to look back and forth at the two a couple times, before figuring out what Blackberry's up to. She gets up and approaches ProtoMan, who takes a few steps back. She then stops only inches away from him, and literally gets in his face, trying to see through his dark sunglasses.

He snaps and asks, "Can I help you?"

"Take 'em off." Blackberry replies.

"Wha-what?" ProtoMan freaks.

MegaMan tries to keep himself from laughing as Blackberry replies, "Your sunglasses. I want to see your eyes. Take 'em off."

"Try fuck no, kid!" ProtoMan denies.

To make matters worse for ProtoMan, she reaches for them and gravs onto one side, but he reacts and grabs her arm with both hands stopping her progress. She smirks at this and reaches with her other hand, grabbing onto his sunglasses. He lets go with his left hand in order to grab onto hers as he tries to get her to stop. Knowing she's got him, she goes ahead and pulls, ProtoMan trying to get her to let go by pushing and pulling. The other Navis soon break into laughter and their NetOps, including the cool and collected Chaud, start to laugh, unable to keep it in. The two struggle for a few minutes, and Blackberry ends up successful, using Ninja Smoke at the last second to make a clean getaway. As she rejoins the group, the smokescreen clears, and ProtoMan's eyes are revealed.

"Whoa!" everyone goes.

"My, my, ProtoMan. You never showed me your eyes before. And now I see why." Chaud says.

"YOU BASTARD! GIVE ME A CYBER SWORD BATTLE CHIP NOW!" ProtoMan shouts.

"You know ProtoMan, you're eyes are a beautiful teal color. They even have the same shape as your NetOp." Roll says.

"I think we know who to use for spy missions now!" MegaMan says, still unable to calm down.

ProtoMan can only growl as he replies, "If I could delete you bastards, I'd do it here and now!"

"Oh please, it's not that bright out. The clouds are blocking the sun; you don't need these." Blackberry says.

"I can see why SharkMan wants to delete you." ProtoMan shoots back.

Moments after the event, the group gets to work on summoning SharkMan. All the Navis head for Net City, and the plan goes into action. Blackberry is walking the cyber streets alone, looking around in fear of SharkMan appearing. MegaMan and the Navis stick close by, but also hide themselves in the alley ways. With Battle Chips being off limits, fighting SharkMan is not going to be easy. As Blackberry continues her way through the cyber streets, she hears a faint sound. She looks around, soon finding a blue dorsal fin sticking out of the ground. She runs for it and the fin follows, soon jumping out, revealing SharkMan is attached to it. He lands in front of her, blocking her off.

"So you finally came out of hiding! I'm going to delete you once and for all! Fin Cutter!" SharkMan says, firing three rounds of his signature move.

Blackberry uses Holy Aura to block, soon finding that it's not strong enough to stand up against all three rounds, and Blackberry is injured and on the ground. As SharkMan closes in, several rounds of buster shots hit him dead on. When the smoke clears, he finds he's surrounded by MegaMan and the others. As SharkMan is about to use Aqua Tower, Roll uses her move, Roll Blast, firing a couple pink outlined hearts at the shark, one canceling his attack, and the other landing a hit. Glyde uses his Glyde Cannon and shoots SharkMan a few times, giving perfect cover for GutsMan to close in and use Guts Punch. This sends the shark-based Navi into the air. ProtoMan leaps into the air with his default Cyber Sword, and slashes downward, sending SharkMan crashing into the ground. With him trying to recover, GutsMan walks over and body slams SharkMan, anchoring him to the ground. The other Navis rush over leaving Roll with Blackberry.

"Gyu...ngh...Man, you guys are good!" SharkMan says, unable to move.

"SharkMan, you need to stop chasing Blackberry; she's not some fish swimming around waiting for you to bite her head off." MegaMan says, pointing his buster at the shark.

"You guys don't get it. I was given a direct order to delete her. She has the power to destroy the Net!" SharkMan argues.

"SharkMan!" two voices call simultaneously.

Appearing from another cyber street is WoodMan and SkullMan. Everyone is surprised to see the two.

"What are you guys doing here?" ProtoMan demands.

"Looking for SharkMan." WoodMan replies.

"SharkMan, Commander Beef was wrong. Blackberry was not the target." SkullMan says.

"What? You can't be serious!" SharkMan says, finally able to push off GutsMan as he stands.

"We're not kidding, JAWS." SkullMan says.

"We located and captured the actual target. Turns out it was a merged Virus. We need your help to completely delete it." WoodMan explains.

SharkMan is stunned at the news; his target was a merged Super Virus on a rampage, and not Blackberry. He looks over at the girls, seeing Blackberry cower behind Roll. He quickly feels guilty.

He sighs and says, "Sorry kid. Guess Commander Beef screwed up this time. The Super Virus and you must've had the same power levels and we confused you and it. If I hurt you in any way, I'm sorry."

"What do you say, Blackberry?" Roll cues, as if a mother hinting for her child's correct action.

Reluctant, Blackberry responds, "...Apology accepted."

"Alright. Show me where the Super Virus is. After this, I'm having Beef for lunch!" SharkMan says.

The three NetNavis teleport outside Net City. MegaMan and the others quickly regroup, and Blackberry is found to have minimal damage; clearly SharkMan was holding back, but the Fin Cutter was still strong enough to cancel the Holy Aura.

"Hey guys, now that Blackberry is safe, how about showing her around Net City?" Yai suggests.

"Not a bad idea. I'm sure she won't mind watching other Navis fight at the Net Coliseum." Roll replies.

"How come I hear music and singing?" Blackberry asks, looking away from the group.

"Oh, you must be hearing the Net Idol Aki. She's known for singing; we even helped save her once." Glyde answers.

"Twice actually...guts guts." GutsMan says.

"I love music! Can we go see?" Blackberry asks.

"Why not! Let's go!" MegaMan says.

"{If he gets hypnotized again, I'm smacking him into last week.}" Roll thinks to herself.

The NetNavis arrive at the Cyber Stage area where Aki is singing and dancing. As the guys become infatuated, ProtoMan keeps his back towards the Idol and Blackberry watches in awe. Roll glares at MegaMan for falling for the Idol once again, which all of the male Navis in the building seem to be doing.

Blackberry soon says, "Hey Roll, I wanna get an outfit like hers!"

"Huh? Why?" Roll asks.

"It's just pretty. Do you think ElecMan would like it?" Blackberry replies.

ProtoMan gets close to Roll and whispers, "I think we should get going before the guys start to get fantasies."

With that, Roll stomps over, grabs MegaMan's arm, and drags him away, snapping him out of the infatuation. Glyde wasn't affected much, and does the same with GutsMan, only he doesn't snap out of it as fast. ProtoMan and Blackberry follow the others outside, where GutsMan finally snaps out of his infatuation. Roll wants to reply to Blackberry's question as to if ElecMan would like the outfit, but decides not to answer, keeping any hurtful thoughts to the young Navi to herself. They continue the tour to the coliseum, where a battle between ThunderMan and MagicMan is about to end. ThunderMan uses Wrath of Thunder, striking MagicMan harsher than ever. MagicMan is flung back, and logs out, unable to continue, making ThunderMan the winner. Blackberry cowers behind MegaMan fearing the awesome power.

"Oh boy, I don't think she likes it here." MegaMan says.

"GutsMan no blame her." GutsMan says.

"I wanna bring her to the Cyber Malls here; maybe she'll find something she likes." Roll says.

"What's a Cyber Mall?" Blackberry asks.

"Same thing as a mall for our NetOps; it holds all kinds of stores where you can find clothes, music, and other things." Glyde replies.

"Let's go there then; this place scares me." Blackberry says.

The Navis teleport away from the coliseum and head for one of the Cyber Malls within Net City. Blackberry soon notices the transparent floors above, soon becoming fascinated by the idea. As they pass buy Higsby's Cyber Chip Shop, they notice another WWW NetNavi just ahead; and it's TorchMan. As they start to pass each other, TorchMan quickly decides to attack, but he's thrown off my an electric jolt. Looking ahead, they find it's none other than ElecMan. Just as Blackberry's excitement rose, TorchMan tries to attack again, only to be tackled by GutsMan. ElecMan quickly uses his Thunderbolt attack, shocking the hell out of TorchMan. The firey NetNavi soon logs out, unable to take any more attacks. With that, Blackberry dashes up to him with a happy energentic look on her face. ElecMan stays in place, and when Blackberry got close enough, she jumps into his arms, him catching her of course.

"{Hmph...guess she really was under his care.}" ProtoMan thinks.

"Blackberry! Thank goodness you're okay! I was afraid you were deleted!" ElecMan says.

"ElecMan, I'm so glad you came here!" Blackberry replies, nuzzling him.

"Same here." he says before noticing the group, "And it appears you've made friends."

"Good thing you showed up ElecMan, I don't think we'd be able to take him with our basic weapons." MegaMan says as the group walks up to him.

"Yeah. Ever since he and Mr. Match heard she became separated, he's been on the prowl for her. So were MagicMan and WackoMan, though WackoMan's more on my side; wanting to find her and bring her home." ElecMan says.

"Almost sounds like WWW has come back." ProtoMan says.

"No, WWW is still disbanded. Count Zap and the others are still helping Yahoot with his cury shop. It looks like you guys have looked after Blackberry well." ElecMan replies.

"Actually we found her about an hour or so ago. We're showing her around Net City now that we have SharkMan off her tail. Turns out he had the wrong target." Roll says.

"Oh really? I hope she bahaved for you guys." ElecMan says.

"She was fine. No worries at all." Lan says, a small screen displaying him appearing.

"Well, except for when she used Ninja Smoke on us earlier." Dex says, his own screen appearing.

"Yeah, she does that when she gets scared enough. Hey, let's go to the Cyber Cafe. My treat." ElecMan says.

"Sounds good to me." MegaMan says.

"Hey MegaMan, the others and I are gonna go somewhere for lunch. You don't mind being on your own for a while, do you?" Lan asks.

"Not at all. You and Dex have fun challenging each other again." MegaMan answers.

"Don't encourage them!" Maylu yells.

The screens disappear. ElecMan lets Blackberry down and leads everyone to a newly opened Cyber Cafe just down the way. Along the way, ElecMan explains to everyone the reason for Blackberry's timid nature, though they have heard Blackberry's side of it. He also explains that she is still a Solo Navi, and has her own space inside Count Zap's computer system, but has a small ability to appear in other Navis' PETs. Once at the Cyber Cafe a little while later, and everyone has decided on something, ElecMan goes more into detail while he lets Blackberry play around with his single Electric Boomer.

"Blackberry is a very sensative Navi is all meanings of the word. Not only i she timid because of what Wily and that other NetNavi did, but she's also sensative to battle chips." ElecMan starts.

"Wait, she can use Battle Chips?" Roll asks.

"To a point. She can use common ones that are weak like Mini Boomers and Area Steal. But give her something strong like a Virus Summon Chip or a Program Advance, and she ends up taking a lot of damage from the usage." ElecMan explains.

"That means she can only use certain Standard Battle Chips, but give her a Virus Summon, Pragram Advance, Mega, Navi, Giga, or Secret Battle Chips and she's in trouble." ProtoMan says.

"Oh my, that's just awful. Why is that?" Glyde asks.

"Not sure. Because she was basically born within a Dimensial Area tank, it may have given her a slight taste of being a regular Net Navi like you and me. But because her brother is a Solo Navi, she has more of that data flowing through her than anything else. To tell you the truth, I've tried looking for Bass on several occasions, but I haven't been able to come close." ElecMan replies.

"Maybe we can help." GutsMan says.

"No, it's okay. Every time I try to get close to the guy or even attempt to, he disappears." ElecMan says.

"ElecMan, I wanna see Zappy!" Blackberry announces, holding the Electric Boomer.

"Sorry Blackberry; he won't be home for another few hours. Hey MegaMan, you wouldn't mind looking after her till I find Count Zap, would you? I have to tell him I found Blackberry." ElecMan asks.

"You said she can teleport into other PETs, right? I don't think Lan would mind much. I know I don't. As long as she doesn't use Ninja Smoke too much." MegaMan agrees.

"But ElecMan, we just found each other! I don't want you to leave now! Not again..." Blackberry cries.

ElecMan puts his hand on her head and says, "Will you relax? I'm not leaving just yet. Not to mention I'm gonna be busy the minute I leave helping the others maintain Yahoot's cury shop."

"I still don't want you to go." Blackberry says with a pout.

"It's okay, Blackberry. When we meet up with our NetOps, you just hold onto me while we jack-out." MegaMan says.

Blackberry tosses the Electric Boomer and attaches herself to ElecMan's arm. She is not about to let him leave her. However, as time passes and an hour goes by, ElecMan has to leave. Roll is the only one to assure Blackberry that she'd be safe with them till ElecMan returns. Blackberry reluctantly agrees, sad to see ElecMan leave her behind as he jacks out.

Unknown to them, however, lurks another NetNavi from the rooftops of the cyber buildings. This Navi is able to blend in with the background, and watches as MegaMan and the others are able to return to their respective PETs, with Blackberry holding tightly onto MegaMan's arm. He grins evily...


	3. WWW Reborn!

Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "[abc]"

**NOTE FROM RYDRAKE:** I will warn you now, I am unaware of the events after the _Axess_ season, as _Stream, Beast, and Beast+_ never received an English adaption. I am also unable to find any episodes with English subs, so no flames or anything similar.

Chapter 3:  
WWW Reborn!

It is early afternoon. The group starts to head for Higsby's Chip Shop, but not before Lan receives an email. It's from Count Zap.

"Huh, I guess ElecMan told him what's going on." Lan says.

"Hold on, I'll pull it up." MegaMan says, getting the file and opening it.

The recorded message from Count Zap says, "Greetings Lan and MegaMan. ElecMan told me that you'd be looking after Blackberry for a bit. There is a reason behind it. When she's at the curry shop, and our NetNavis are trying to help, she does have quite a tendancy of...how should I say this without being blunt?"

Mr. Match interrupts, "She constantly gets in the way! Just come out and say it!"

Count Zap argues, "I'd wish you'd shut up! Anyway, it's true. She wants to help out, but her inexperience and sometimes hyper nature messes things up here at #1 Curry. We've all spoken to her about it, but each time it's like she forgets and messes us up. We'll actually be closing early today around 6pm since Yahoot said we're running low on some things. When closing time hits in another 4 hours, meet me inside the shop; it's supposed to rain tonight. ElecMan and I are trusting you with her."

MegaMan minimizes the screen saying, "And that's it."

"I fucking hate Mr. Match. When I see him again, I'll make sure he gets the burn of his life!" Blackberry says.

Maylu giggles and says, "You may have one hell of a timid nature, but you can be quite a vengeful thing, huh?"

"I have my moments. 'Course TorchMan burns my ass every chance he gets; I'll douse his flames with a damn hydrent!" Blackberry replies.

"Heheh, just like her brother, only with more of a personality." MegaMan says.

"Hey, I got an idea. Count Zap said that when she tries to help the Navis, she messes things up. Why don't we try to get that under control?" Maylu suggests.

"That's a great idea, Maylu. But do you think it's possible?" Dex says.

"We can all head to my place after we see what Battle Chips we can get. My kitchen is big enough for her to make mistakes." Yai says.

"I was in your kitchen before Yai; when I tried to increase my own skills there and screwed up, you ended up zapping the hell outta me. Last thing we need is to give Blackberry more of an inferiority complex." MegaMan argues.

"Sadly he's right, Miss Yai. You've done it to me too." Glyde agrees.

"I think we'll go to my place instead. The kitchen may not be big, but at least it doesn't have traps." Chaud suggests.

"Wait, your place?" Yai asks, feeling a bit angered.

"Yes. No one's going to be home till nightfall, so we'll have plenty of time to help control her hyperactiveness." Chaud replies.

"Sounds like a plan then. But, how are we going to teach her, exactly? She'd be working in the cyber space." Lan asks.

"Simple." Chaud answers.

As he explains what ideas he has as they turn around a corner, they find Higsby outside his shop sobbing and panicking. They rush over to see what's up, only to learn that someone has stolen all his rare Battle Chips while he was in another room. With the kids unable to really do much at this point, all they can suggest is to call the cops, since this isn't a cyber issue. Higsby hangs his head in defeat, admitting he'd have no choice. When he stands up, he notices Blackberry out of the corner of his eye, standing next to MegaMan in the PET.

"Hey Lan, who's that NetNavi? Is that Bass?" Higsby asks.

"Huh? Oh no, this isn't Bass. Her name is Blackberry and she's Bass's sister." Lan replies.

"BASS'S SISTER?" Higsby freaks.

"Don't worry, she's completely harmless." Dex says.

"Higsby! I'm getting a strange feeling about that Navi. Let's NetBattle!" NumberMan says.

"NumberMan, you can't be serious. Why would you want to battle a harmless NetNavi, not to mention she's Bass's sister?" Higsby asks.

Lan quickly says, "Sorry NumberMan, but she isn't meant for battle. We only came here for some Battle Chips."

"Hmm...okay, let's make a deal. Higsby still has one chip left that was previously used. If she can beat me, then it's yours." NumberMan suggests.

"GAAAHHHH, YOU CAN'T BE TALKING ABOUT MY DARK SWORD CHIP! YOU KNOW I CAN'T GIVE THAT AWAY!" Higsby freaks.

"How on Earth do you still have a Dark Chip? I could've sworn we got rid of those!" Chaud asks.

Higsby replies, "Thing is, I know they're bad, but this thing can take down a powerful NetNavi in one swing if it wanted to. It's the only one left because I was trying to scan it for any side effects. It's technically a legal chip to use outside of Net City. Although it's identical in shape to the Cyber Sword, it can't be used in a Program Advance, since it's all ready so strong."

"Well you've grabbed my full attention. I accept your challenge, NumberMan!" Lan says.

"Lan, you can't be serious! You saw what SharkMan did to her, didn't you?" MegaMan freaks.

Lan gets the group to huddle and he quietly says, "Guys, NumberMan isn't a strong Navi; Blackberry can take him. But that's not why I'm accepting the challenge. The other reason is to get that chip away from him in case someone else grabs it and uses it for evil intentions."

"Oh, good idea Lan. Not to mention, this will give her some battle experience, and a huge self-esteem boost!" Maylu says.

"I object!" Blackberry says.

"Easy, Blackberry. I have chips that you can use without issues. You'll do just fine against NumberMan." Lan says.

"...If you say so. I just hope he doesn't plan on using that chip; I could be deleted." Blackberry says.

Inside the Chip Shop moments later, Higsby and MegaMan jack-in their Navis into his computer. The floor they are on is a faded green color while random numbers are scattered far above them. The space is a light blue color. NumberMan readies his Number Tenbou. Blackberry automatically throws up her Holy Aura. As soon as the battle starts, NumberMan uses Dice Bomb, summoning up to three before throwing them. Lan orders Blackberry to use Ninja Smoke, which she quickly does. Lan downloads an Area Steal for her to get away before the bombs landed, soon exploding. NumberMan decides to close in, determined to get rid of her aura. As he summons another Dice Bomb, Lan downloads three Mini Boomers. Blackberry uses them to counter the Dice Bombs, using Ninja Smoke again to get away.

"{Okay, good so far. I have three other Mini Boomers she can use. The cannons I can control so she won't take damage. Let's try it.} Hang on Blackberry! Cannon Battle Chip in, download!" Lan says.

A cannon appears in front of Blackberry aimed towards NumberMan. Lan fires off a few shots, each hit connecting. Lan downloads a Buster chip, turning Blackberry's right arm into a buster of her own. Lan tells her to close in while NumberMan's stil down. Higsby downloads a Hi-Cannon Battle Chip and fires at Blackberry. However, the shots weren't strong enough to bring down her Holy Aura and she easily closes in, aiming her buster in NumberMan's face. As she fires, NumberMan wakes up and stabs her in the gut with his tenbou. It doesn't pierce through her, but it got through her aura, and now it was gone.

"Hey, what the hell happened?" Lan asks.

"HAHAHAHAHA! It seems Blackberry's Aura acts more like a shield; it started to disperse after a few good rounds of a common Hi-Cannon! Do it, NumberMan! Time Bomb!" Higsby explains.

"On it Higsby!" NumberMan answers.

With Blackberry cringing in pain from the stab and all curled up trying to recover, NumberMan quickly sets a Time Bomb on her back, setting it to five seconds. Higsby downloads an Area Steal for NumberMan to get away, and the bomb explodes, sending Blackberry flying to the edge of the arena. Now she's in trouble; her power levels drops to near critical. As NumberMan charges in to finish her off, she uses Ninja Smoke and blinds him. She stands up and runs for it, unable to summon another Holy Aura. Lan looks at his current chips, not able to use much. He soon remembers what ElecMan said earlier, about how she can't use strong chips and the Program Advance. This gives him an idea. He finds a Recovery 80 Chip and downloads that to keep Blackberry going. The smokscreen clears, and NumberMan uses Number Ball, summoning three balls and having them rolling after her. Lan downloads the other three Mini Boomers, telling Blackberry to throw them at the Number Balls. She does as commanded, but misses one on accident. Before Lan could use a Barrier Chip, Blackberry is hit, and the ball explodes, doing no more than medium damage. The smoke from the explosion clears, and NumberMan is in Blackberry's face.

Lan quickly uses a ElectroSword, and Blackberry is able to defend from the tenbou without any ill effects. She pushes him away, and slashes at him vociously, fearing deletion. Higsby uses a Barrier Chip and this stops Blackberry's barrage of slashes. Blackberry jumps back to gain distance. The Barrier disappears, and Blackberry closes in for another barrage. This time, NumberMan is able to match her move for move, blocking every strike.

"Lan, she's out of control. If she keeps it up like that, she won't win." Chaud says.

"There's not much I can do. She's more Solo Navi than regular Navi. I can't control her." Lan says.

"{Too easy!} Let's end this, NumberMan! Here, use this!" Higsby says, downloading a chip.

NumberMan jumps back, gaining distance. Blackberry stays in place as the ElectroSword vanishes due to overuse. Soon, the area becomes dark, and shadows appear. Blackberry looks up and sees meteors heading for her. NumberMan then disappears underground, keeping himself safe from the meteors.

"Blackberry, quick, head for the hole! You have time!" Lan says.

Scared more than ever, Blackberry manages to move as fast as possible over to the hole NumberMan created. She jumps in, where NumberMan awaits with a Magnet Bolt Virus. Lan quickly downloads the CyberSword, and Blackberry is able to get rid of it. NumberMan is unable to defend, and Lan tells her to end the battle. Blackberry stabs NumberMan in his gut and he logs out. The meteors stop falling, canceled by NumberMan logging out. Blackberry climbs out of the hole and the Cyber Sword disappears. She looks around, thinking something else is going to happen.

"You did it Blackberry! You won!" Lan says.

"Wait, I did?" Blackberry asks.

"Yeah! When the Navi you fight logs out, it makes you the winner!" Dex replies.

"...So then...I actually won a batlle? YES! I can't wait to tell Zappy and ElecMan! I won! I won!" Blaclberry says, jumping for joy.

"Noooooo, NumberMan!" Higsby cries.

Lan jacks-out Blackberry and she returns to his PET, still happy about her first victory.

"Okay Higsby, now about that Dark Sword chip." Lan says.

"Damn. Well, you did beat me fair and square I guess. Here, the chip's yours." Higsby says, handing over the chip.

"Way to go Lan." Maylu says.

"AAAAGGGGHHHHH!" Blackberry suddenly screams.

"Whoa, what's wrong, Blackberry?" Lan asks.

"GYYUUUAAAHHH! MY WHOLE BODY HURTS! MAKE IT STOP!" Blackberry shouts.

MegaMan suddenly has an idea of what's wrong, "Lan, I think it might be that chip! Blackberry must be sensative to whatever aura is left in it!"

"You can't be serious!" Lan says.

Chaud rips the chip out of Lan's hand, and Blackberry calms down.

"Lan, this chip must be her weakness. Think about it; Bass uses attacks that are mostly dark, right? Blackberry is almost a polar opposite." Chaud says.

"You mean she has holy attacks? Oh, her Holy Aura!" Yai says.

"Exactly. Where Bass focuses on using mostly dark attacks, Blackberry is opposite; she uses Holy attacks. There must be more of a reason as to why she's Bass's sister." Chaud says.

"It's almost like they're the Yin and Yang." Higsby says.

"Yin and Yang?" the group asks.

"Yes. Yin and Yang are, in this case, the dark and light, respectively. In Chinese philosophy and religion, Yin and Yang are two principles; one negative, dark, and feminine, Yin, and one positive, bright, and masculine. In this case though, Bass would be considered Yin, despite being male, and Blackberry would be Yang, despite being female." Higsby explains.

"Uh, in English?" Yai says.

"In other words, what he means is that Yin and Yang are meant to keep things in balance, like good and evil. One cannot rule over the other. I think Blackberry must've been a kind of a fail safe in order to keep Bass in check, but the fact that she came out now almost defeats the purpose of her existing." Chaud explains.

"There must be another reason for my existance! Like maybe Bass has too much darkness, and it needs to be toned down." Blackberry says.

"I dunno. The fact that this Dark Chips hurts you without it needing to be downloaded has me worried. Lan, I think we should bring her to Sci Lab at some point and have her checked out. I don't like how this is all playing out." Chaud says.

"I hate to say it, but I agree. Maybe your dad can figure out why Blackberry's weak." Dex says.

"Maybe. I don't want to do it now. I don't wanna overwhelm Blackberry any more than she is now." Lan says.

"And that's perfectly understandable Lan. But for now, keep that chip away from her till we can figure things out. I wouldn't use it if she's inside the PET and MegaMan's battling; it could affect her through the download process." Higsby says.

Meanwhile, within Wily's base somewhere in the world, Wily has come in contact with a strange NetNavi. It entered his mainframe and is now a mere hologram in the Dimensial tank where Blackberry was born. Its figure is dark, only its eyes being shown.

"What and who are you? And why have you sought me out?" Wily asks.

"I will tell you I am a powerful NetNavi, but I will not reveal my name just yet. The reason I sought you out is because I sensed a newborn Navi here. However, I see that it is now gone." the Navi replies, his voice sounding like a deeper version of _Gaara of the Desert_ from _Naruto._

"Yes, she was named Blackberry. She's Bass's sister and was born here about a month ago. I wanted to delete her because she is weak, but one of my ex-members saved her."

"Ahhh, then that's why I have come to be."

"Huh?"

"You see, this Blackberry, Bass's sister, holds a secret program that I would like to get my hands on. I am certain you would like it as well. Tell me human, what is your name?"

"Just call me Mr. Wily. What about this secret program?"

"Heheheh, all in good time. Meanwhile, I will be staying here in your base. You may call me, Adamant Enigma."

"Adamant Enigma, eh? I like the sound of your name. But if you plan on staying here, you will be serving under me."

"Fine with me. However, I wish to remain a Solo NetNavi so that I may easily seek out Bass...and his sister."

Back in DenTech City, the 4 hours had gone by faster than expected. Blackberry was unable to start learning how to control some kitchen appliances because she had passed out soon after leaving the chip shop, forcing Lan to repair her as needed. He and his friends had parted ways heading home for dinner, but Chaud chose to follow, as he knew Lan wouldn't be able to remember all that Higsby said. Not to mention, he didn't want to hang onto the Dark Chip any longer, remembering when he did that to ProtoMan, almost completely losing him. They find #1 Curry and head inside, where Count Zap was doing some last minute clean up, putting the bowls and plates away. After he puts away the last one and turns to untie his apron, he notices Lan and Chaud across from him.

"Ah Lan, good to see you kid. And Chaud Blaze too, huh?" Count Zap says, removing his apron.

"Good to see you too. Blackberry can't wait to return to you and ElecMan." Lan says.

"Oh I'm sure. This transfer will be easy. Just set down your PET and I'll set mine down next to yours." Count Zap says.

As Lan does as asked, Chaud brings up what went on with Higsby, revealing she had battled and won. Count Zap can't believe it, denying that she had won at all. When the transfer is complete, he sees she still has a few battle scars as she announces her first victory. Count Zap laughs in amazement as all her practice battles have been losses. Chaud explains what Higsby said about her and Bass being the Yin and Yang, and reveals the Dark Chip Lan had one, explaining her sensativity to it. Count Zap wanted to accept it, but learning of her sensativity, can't.

"Aside from all this, I'm glad I could still count on you to watch her. I didn't expect to be reparing her." Count Zap says.

"Yeah, sorry. The only reason I had to win the chip was so it wouldn't fall into the wrong hands, as cleche as that sounds." Lan explains.

"And that's fine. At least she got to win a battle. Maybe she should practice with you from now on, huh? Hahaha!" Count Zap says.

"That's if she even wants to visit. As long as she doesn't expect me to wake up early." Lan says.

"I can't garauntee she won't. But I have noticed in our practice battles that when I play my guitar while using her, she actually becomes a lot braver in battle, but that's all it does. Her attack gets better, but not her defenses." Count Zap says.

"Maybe she feels more confident getting suppirt or something. But anyway, Higsby suggested taking her to Sci Lab at some point to get her checked out." Lan says.

"I'll have to transfer her to you for that; chances are I'll be stuck here. But many thanks you two. I know who to trust her to if things get rough around here." Count Zap says.

"Anytime, Count Zap." Lan says.

"No problem." Chaud says.


	4. Vampires Suck Data

Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "[abc]"

**NOTE FROM RYDRAKE:** I will warn you now, I am unaware of the events after the _Axess_ season, as _Stream, Beast, and Beast+_ never received an English adaption. I am also unable to find any episodes with English subs, so no flames or anything similar.

Chapter 4:  
Vampires Suck...Data

"Oh man! I'm gonna be so late!" Lan shouts as he scrambles to get dressed.

"I tried to wake you ever since your alarm went off at 6. I think you need to install an air raid alarm somewhere." MegaMan says.

"Oh, haha, very funny, MegaMan." Lan says sarcastically, until he realizes something, "Oh no..."

"What's wrong?" MegaMan asks.

"My closet is empty! I don't have any shorts or shorts left!"

"That's weird. Didn't your mom do the laundry?"

"I coulda sworn she was!"

The PET starts to beep, finding it's an email with an attachment. As MegaMan opens the file, the attachment springs to life, and is tackled to the ground. When Lan gets to his PET and MegaMan recovers, the attachment stands up, and it's Blackberry.

"Blackberry? What are you doing attached to the email?" Lan asks.

"Oww...that really hurt!" Blackberry says before she notices the two, "Lan! Mega! 'Morning guys!"

"Uh Blackberry, the email?" MegaMan reminds.

"Oh right, that. Well, I was in Net City with ElecMan when we met up with Roll. When Maylu joined in, we saw a lady pass by and she asked Maylu something. So, she was going to send you the email with a couple messages, but I decided to come as an attachment." Blackberry replies.

"How is that even possible?" MegaMan asks.

"I have no idea!" Blackberry replies with a sunny look, "But there are two things. Maylu says that she and the others are going to meet you in DenTown because some kid decided to challenge Dex to a NetBattle, and the other thing was about that woman, who Maylu said is your mom. She said that when she was going to do the laundry last night, she saw that there was no more detergent left, and left this morning to go get it since it was stormy last night."

"Please tell me that's a joke! I have nothing to wear!" Lan whines.

"Well, there is one other thing you can wear..." MegaMan starts to suggest.

A half hour later after taking the bus, Lan arrives in East DenTown, meeting up with Dex, Maylu, and Yai. They're suddenly confused at his choice for clothing. His only defense was that there was no more detergent left, so he had to resort to his Monkey Prince costume, leaving the fake sideburns behind. Maylu says that he can probably find something more suitable to wear once they start shopping. Another bus arrives on the opposite side of the street with only a few passengers getting off, and one of them happens to be Count Zap. He sees Lan and the others across from him and waves. Lan is the only one to wave back. When the traffic calmed down, Count Zap runs across and meets up with the kids.

"Hey Count Zap. If you're looking for Blackberry, she's with me again." Lan says.

"Oh I know she is. But it isn't about that." Count Zap says.

"You look a bit freaked out. What's going on?" Maylu asks.

"It's awful! A NetNavi got into #1 Curry's computer system and is wreaking havoc within the shop! None of our Navis can stop him. I'm afraid we need you help this time." Count Zap explains.

"I'm so sitting this one out." Blackberry says as she cowers behind MegaMan.

"What's this NetNavi doing, anyway?" Dex asks.

"Oh man...Yahoot got a new electric stove, and the Navi's taken control of it. The glass top got so hot it cracked and shattered. Needless to say, we're closed because of it." Count Zap replies.

"Wait, is ElecMan okay?" Blackberry asks.

"He's gotten stubborn all of a sudden! He's still trying to fend off the Navi! We have to hurry back before he gets deleted again!" Count Zap answers.

"That's not good! Quick, to the subway!" Lan says.

"I have a better idea." Yai says as she fiddles with her PET.

"Please don't tell me you have a race car..." Dex says.

"No, but I have a rocket bus." Yai replies.

"I may not be human, but I think I feel sick..." Blackberry says.

Meanwhile at #1 Curry, in the electric stove's cyber space, ElecMan is trying to hold back the NetNavi. MagicMan was forced to log out after he was brutally injured by trying to use water-based viruses to stop the Navi. TorchMan is still trying to hang in there using the Fire Tower whenever possible. WackoMan is quickly becoming weak, assisting with Aqua Tower by using his Blue clone. This NetNavi barely has any scratches on it as it uses its own Fire Tower to knock back the three remaining Navis. ElecMan is able to dodge the attack, but as TorchMan is about to get hit, WackoMan uses Aqua Tower and the attacks cancel each other just in time. The Navi laughs manically at this, his voice as deep as the ocean. He is fairly tall, with a red outfit. His boots are bulky and yellow, the soles being blue. His busters are an orange color, having up to three rings on each colored yellow with small spikes. His head is in the shape of a vampire bat, with four small prominent fangs. His eyes are an intense yellow as his head is normal brown. He also has wings with a flame-like coloration on them, ranging from red to yellow. He even had a long brown tail with a small flame at the tip.

"HAHAHAHA, is that all you Navis really have? You're just as pathetic as my Boss described!" the Navi says.

"Ngh...you're boss?" TorchMan asks as he tries to stand.

"Yes. He is stronger than anything you've ever seen! You guys aren't worthy to meet him. But you have the honor of being defeated by me, Brave Geyser! My task is to take complete control of this town and destroy all access to the Net!" the Navi replies.

"That's your mission, huh? I'm not exactly one for protecting a city, but I can't let you do that, Brave Geyser!" ElecMan says.

"Yeah! Before you know it, you'll be the one who's deleted!" WackoMan bravely says.

"You tell him, WackoMan!" Maddy says.

"Keh, you're pretty bold for a clown. Let's see if you can make a funny while you're DELETED!" Brave Geyser says as he jumps into the air.

As Brave Geyser goes into a dive, he is caught off guard when he is blinded from a smokescreen. He blows it away with his wings in order to reveal on the ground that MegaMan, GutsMan, Roll, Glyde, and even the timid Blackberry had shown up. He lands on the ground, impressed by the move, but keeps his eye on Blackberry.

"So, Bass's younger twin sister has shown up, huh? I thought you were supposed to be deleted." Brave Geyser says.

"ElecMan saved me from being deleted by Wily over a month ago! Now it's my turn to save him and my friends!" Blackberry replies.

"Hmm, guess I missed that memo. Doesn't matter. I'll make sure you're all deleted. PREPARE YOURSELF, SPAWN OF GOSPEL!" Brave Geyser says before he goes into a speedy lunge.

Roll uses Roll Blast mixed with Aqua Tower, managing to hit the Bat Navi and send him flying back. TorchMan is given a Fire Sword. He quickly uses Fire Tower as a distraction, which works as Brave Geyser avoids it, but is caught off guard when TorchMan gets in close and slashes at the Navi. However, Brave Geyser uses his tail to wrap around TorchMan, soon binding him. Brave Geyser than bites down on TorchMan, and starts to absorb his data. ElecMan uses his Electric Blaze attack, but to no avail; Brave Geyser blocks it with his wing. Mr. Match has no choice and jacks-out TorchMan, which works. Brave Geyser then dives down and slams into the ground using a more improved Fire Tower, calling it Erupting Tower. This tower is very wide, looking like a volcanic eruption. WackoMan gets in front of it and uses Aqua Tower, which sadly fails. He is enveloped by the tower and logs out. The other Navis desperatly try to avoid it, and manage to do so, before discovering that ElecMan and Glyde are burnt from the attack, their feet getting caught in the attack.

"HAHAHAHA! I guess that Navi had some power in him after all! Alright, who's going to be my next target? How about you, Bass Twin?" Brave Geyser says as he locks onto Blackberry.

Blackberry is suddenly frozen in fear as Brave Geyser dives after her. Lan tries to download an Area Steal chip for her, but the PET refuses to accept the chip. Count Zap says that when Blackberry's frozen in fear, she can't use any Battle Chips. GutsMan is given his Guts Hammer and uses it in a different way this time. Instead of slamming it into the ground, he gets in front of Blackberry, blocking Brave Geyser's path, and when the bat got close, GutsMan uses his hammer like bat, bashing Brave Geyser's head and sending him a good distance across the area.

"Heheh, home run." GutsMan says.

"Wow, what a powerful swing! Way to think on your feet, GutsMan!" Yai cheers.

"Quick, we need to take him out now! Aqua Sword, Battle Chip in, download, MegaMan!" Lan says.

MegaMan's right arm becomes the Aqua Sword and he is given the Area Steal to close in faster. ElecMan is given an ElectroSword and fuses it with an Electric Blaze for more damage. Glyde gets a triple Crack Chip and an Aqua Up2 Chip. He breaks the ground underneath Brave Geyser, and shoots up his own geysers from below. Roll is given a few Roll Arraow Chips. A bow appears in front of her. She grabs it, prepares an arrow, aims, and fires. It makes contact with Brave Geyser. ElecMan and MegaMan jump into the air and slash down together at the bat, dealing damage and sending him into the ground. As ElecMan and MegaMan land, Lan quickly decides to use the Style Change, changing MegaMan into ElecTeam MegaMan. As ElecMan charges power to use Thunderbolt, MegaMan charges power for TeraBolt. Both then combine their attacks, and zap Brave Geyser into oblivion. But he wasn't logging out or deleted. He stands up, weak from the barrage of attacks.

He says panting heavily, "...what great teamwork...but...it's going to go to waste..."

"How about you just hurry up and turn to smoke?" MegaMan threatens.

"Heheheh...would if I could...now then...I'M TAKING YOUR DATA!" Brave Geyser says, lunging at MegaMan.

ElecMan tries to intervene, but is pushed aside by the bat Navi. MegaMan tries to use TeraBolt again, but before he could, Brave Geyser wraps his tail around him, and bites down on the Blue Bomber's neck. Everyone cries out his name as his data is going into Brave Geyser, healing any injuries. ElecMan uses an Electric Boomer, but Brave Geyser bounces it back with his wing, and ElecMan is hit. Roll can't take aim with her arrows due to MegaMan being used as a sheild. None of the Navis can take any actions, save for Glyde suddenly logging out; the burn was becoming too much for him. Blackberry panics, trying to think of what to do to save MegaMan and ElecMan. Just then, an odd aura surrounds her, a a white colored orb with light gold rings appears in her left hand.

"What the hell is this?" Blackberry asks.

"It's a new Solo Navi Attack! It's called...Lolita Boomer. Blackberry, you better use that now!" Lan says, as the PET gives more information on it.

"Okay! But I need to get close!" Blackberry says.

Lan uses another Area Steal chip. Before using it, Blackberry puts up her Holy Aura. She appears behind Brave Geyser and tosses the bomb at him. As it explodes, Brave Geyser not only releases MegaMan, but small pink hearts appear from the smoke. They go over to MegaMan, and any injuries received are healed.

"Amazing! It says here, when in a regular single battle, it's no stronger than a Mini Boomer. But in a team battle, it deals more damage, while also healing any injuries dealt to the damaged partner." Lan reads off his PET.

"Good news for whoever fights with her." Mr. Match says.

"Wait, it looks like there's a drawback to using it." Maddy says.

Blackberry uses another Lolita Boomer, dealing more damage to Brave Geyser, while its healing properties go to ElecMan this time. MegaMan's Style Change disappears, and Lan starts to download the three swords needed for the Program Advance to MegaMan: Cyber Sword, Wide Sword, and Long Sword. MegaMan wastes no time in using it while Roll fires her remaining Roll Arrows to keep Brave Geyser in place, and ElecMan using Thunderbolt. MegaMan slashes in point blank range, slicing Brave Geyser in two the long way, successfully deleting him. Everyone breathes a sigh of releif, but something starts to happen. A dark aura surrounds Blackberry, and her eyes start to glow red.

"Shit! ElecMan, you have to stop her!" Count Zap says.

"Why ElecMan?" Roll asks.

"The side affect to using Lolita Boomer is nasty. If she uses more than 5 in a battle alongside another NetNavi, she becomes a dark version of herself, attacking everything in the area. Even if the battle ends, the side effect takes place, and her HP drains the longer she stays dark. Everyone, jack out!" Lan says.

Roll and GutsMan jack out, but MegaMan refuses and stays. He can tell ElecMan isn't prepared for this. Lan says by reading more from the PET that the only way to stop her is to drain her HP before the darkness does. Blackberry is still becoming surrounded by the aura, her Holy Aura eaten alive by it. ElecMan wants no more than to try and talk sense into her, but he knows it won't work. Soon the darkness takes full control of Blackberry. MegaMan intervenes as she charges for ElecMan, using his Mega Buster to hold her back. This works as the attack is too much. Then, ElecMan walks in front of MegaMan, forming an Electric Boomer in his hands. Blackberry shakes off the damage and lunges at the two Navis. But when she got too close, ElecMan slams his Electric Boomers into her sides, zapping away the rest of her HP. The dark aura disappears, and her eyes return to normal. She goes limp in ElecMan's arms, and he just stands there holding her.

"...ElecMan..." MegaMan tries to say.

"No...it's okay. She'll be fine. It'll take her the rest of the day to recover." ElecMan says.

"But I wanna know if you're going to be okay."

"...I'll be alright. MegaMan, do me a favor."

"What is it?"

"Come by later tonight. Our NetOps will be busy all day trying to fix this mess. Chances are, all us NetNavis will be recovering in the underground computer room. When you get a free chance tonight, come by and get Blackberry...take her to SciLab."

"Hold on ElecMan, that can't be done." Lan says.

"Why not?" Count Zap asks.

"I know for a fact my dad won't be at SciLab tonight. He'll be back around Friday this week." Lan answers.

"That gives Blackberry two days to recover. We should let her do just that." Yahoot says.

"Then that's fine. MegaMan, thanks for helping us today. I'll have to repay you." ElecMan says.

"You don't have to. Just let me know how Blackberry's doing." MegaMan says.

Elsewhere, in Wily's base, both Wily and Adamant Enigma are disappinted by Brave Geryser's deletion. The data he had sucked out of TorchMan and MegaMan were sent to Wily, but neither proved to be very useful.

"I shouldn't be very surprised; he was the weakest of them all anyway." Adamant Enigma says.

"Yes, clearly he was too easy for MegaMan. But seeing them struggle again was fun." Wily says.

"He didn't get hold of Blackberry's data. But not to worry, I have another soldier who's willing to get what we need."

"Oh do you? Is he stronger than Brave Geyser?"

"_She_ will prove to be a very difficult opponent indeed. She's my most loyal and refuses to fail me."

"It's a girl, huh? Tell me, what's she like?"

"Oh you'll see. I have her on a course to Brightland. It'll take a few days to pull off, but it will be worth the wait."

That night, while at home, Count Zap was about to take out his guitar and play some notes from a song, when ElecMan interrupts him. He informs Count Zap that Blackberry's recovery has finally begun after hours of struggling to get her to accept the help. This lifts up Count Zap's spirit, and goes ahead with the notes that he hopes will help Blackberry recover faster.


	5. Blackberry's Scanning

Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "[abc]"

**NOTE FROM RYDRAKE:** I will warn you now, I am unaware of the events after the _Axess_ season, as _Stream, Beast, and Beast+_ never received an English adaption. I am also unable to find any episodes with English subs, so no flames or anything similar.

Chapter 5:  
Blackberry's Scanning

A couple days come and go, making it Friday at last. However, not all is going according to plan. The day before, Count Zap and Lan had exchanged words about bringing Blackberry to SciLab. Lan promised to meet Count Zap near SciLab since Blackberry cannot travel to Lan's Home Page in his computer while she's still weak. Although this is no problem, something happens overnight. As the still damaged Blackberry is resting trying to recover in her Net Page within Count Zap's computer, something disturbs her and she wakes up, her recovery being discontinued. Out of nowhere, she sees a flower growing in one of the corners of her page. She walks over to it and looks at it curiously, soon bending down to poke it. Suddenly, more flowers appear, creating a path into a cyber tunnel leading away from her page. She looks into the tunnel not seeing very much except for the typical data stream one would find when jacking in or traveling. She heads into the tunnel, letting it take her to who is making the flowers.

It is now Friday morning, and Lan is sleeping in. MegaMan tried to wake him, but none of his comical tricks worked, including using the "you're underpants are on fire" line. He wasn't too sure what to do, except for wishing he had Rush's ability to appear in the human world. Though something was on his mind; it was the fact he was able to use the Style Change two days ago during his battle with Brave Geyser, the Bat Navi that tried to suck out his data. Another thing was bothering him too, a symbol had appeared in the bottom right corner of the PET screen overnight, and he couldn't scan it or move it. As he tries to figure these things out, a screen appears next to him, revealing it to be Count Zap.

"Hi Count Zap. Sorry, but Lan and I might be a little late to SciLab." MegaMan says.

"I wouldn't worry about SciLab right now; I've got an issue...and it involves everyone's favorite berry." Count Zap replies, not too happy about his situation.

"How bad is the situation?"

"Bad enough. Blackberry disappeared last night!"

"What? You've gotta be kidding! I wish I could wake up Lan."

"Oh that won't be a problem. I have my guitar right here; I thought he might be sleeping in. I'd cover your ears though, it's going to be LOUD!"

"Good thing Net Navis can't go completely deaf..."

As MegaMan covers his ears, Count Zap pulls out a guitar pick, and starts to play his guitar as loudly as possible. This scares the daylights out of Lan as he jumps screaming and falls on the floor on his head. Count Zap stops playing as Lan gets up trying to shake off his new headache.

"You know Lan, it's a good thing you have a thick skull." MegaMan jokes.

"Shut...up. What was that anyway?" Lan asks as he uses his desk to stand up.

"Count Zap. I couldn't wake you up. And we'll be taking a detour today; he said that Blackberry's missing." MegaMan replies.

"Missing? How'd she pull that off?" Lan asks.

"By a trail of cyber flowers that ElecMan found in her page this morning. One of the flowers was missing a petal, which was found on Blackberry's pillow. It has the letters: YYHS." Count Zap quickly explains.

"YYHS? Man, I'm too tired to think!" Lan says, trying to think.

"YYHS...Hold on a sec, there's only one place I know that has those letters! The Yokayoka Hot Springs!" MegaMan says, coming to the realization.

"Yokayoka Hot Springs? Oh man, anywhere but that place!" Lan says, remembering how he couldn't even use the springs on his trip there the first time.

"I know that place! That's the place where you need to do all sorts of wacky traditions to use the springs, right? They must've come up with a cyber version for Net Navis!" Count Zap says.

MegaMan says, "Then it that case, I wouldn't be too worried about her. But those cyber flowers you mentioned...they sound familiar..."

"That place is pretty far away though. It's gonna take a while to get there." Lan says.

"Then jack me in. If Count Zap jacks in ElecMan too, he and I can meet up and head to Cyber Yokayoka while you and Count Zap head there by train." MegaMan suggests.

"Good thinking, MegaMan. I'll have ElecMan meet you near the Net Coliseum in Net City." Count Zap says, before the screen disappears.

"At least you shouldn't have too many problems battling the viruses if you find any." Lan says picking up the PET. "Okay, Jack-in, MegaMan! Power Up!"

MegaMan appears in Net City, and races over to the coliseum to meet ElecMan. Meanwhile, Lan hurries to gets dressed and out the door, but not before grabbing some breakfast first. In Net City, MegaMan finds ElecMan near the coliseum, the serious look on his face saying it all. They then teleport away from the city and head through a different portal, this one leading to the Cyber Yokayoka. However, unbeknownst to them, someone was watching from up above as they lept into the portal.

"{Hmm...I thought I sensed him again. But, I'm sensing something else from the both of them. What is it though?}" this Navi thinks.

In the Human World, Lan had managed to get on the train heading to Yokayoka Hot Springs. He checks up on MegaMan with the PET, finding he and ElecMan are on the way to Cyber Yokayoka. He suddenly sees something out the window. He turns to look and finds it's Count Zap's hot air balloon. Lan manages to make contact with him, joking about him not being able to catch a train.

Soon within the Net, MegaMan and ElecMan reach Cyber Yokayoka, seeing other NetNavis walking around in Kimono Programs. When the two try to enter, they are soon block by HeavyMetalMan. Although he and MegaMan are glad to see each other, HeavyMetalMan states that all NetNavis cannot enter without a Kimono Program. ElecMan came prepared, carrying two with him. He hands one to MegaMan and they activate the small orbs, soon changing into Kimonos over their usual outfits. MegaMan was not surprised to see that both of the kimonos have lightning bolts on them, but is surprised to find they are without weapons. HaveMetalMan says that Cyber Yokayoka is a battle-free zone, so even main weapons are disabled upon entering.

"Well at least Blackberry's completely safe here." MegaMan says.

"Speaking of which, have you seen a small NetNavi that looks like Bass, only female?" ElecMan asks.

"Now that you mention it, I did see someone like that. She came here with two other NetNavis using borrowed Kimono Programs. They came here early this morning and haven't left yet. I think they're in one of the private hot springs." HeavyMetalMan replies.

"PRIVATE HOT SPRING? Oh fuck no! Not on my watch!" ElecMan flips, storming into the area.

HeavyMetalMan watches in confusion and asks, "Um, what's his deal?"

MegaMan replies placing his hand behind his head, "He's been watching over Blackberry for a month, and I'm guessing he's quite attached to her."

"Apparently so. If he plans on finding her, she and the other two Navis are in Hot Spring 9-G."

"9-G? The hot springs have sections?"

"Yeah. Ever since this opened up a couple weeks ago, a lot of tired NetNavis started flocking here like crazy. So we created sections A-Z with numbers 1-9. You better go catch up to him."

"You guys are well organized. Alright, I'll be seeing you then. And no Net Battles, okay?"

"Will do."

MegaMan rushes to catch up with ElecMan, telling him about the section Blackberry is in. With that, the two search the area, finding section G. They find the 9th one and head inside the small "bath house". The only things they found were the three borrowed kimonos, what looked to be wooden lockers, and benches. A wall blocks off the other side. They head through the small doorway, finding changing stalls with actual doors (and not those annoying curtains that one can actually see through). This confused the Navis, but not before hearing splashing beyond the sliding door. ElecMan marches over, pulls the door open, only to find the two Navis and Blackberry; one of the Navis is relaxing in the water by just floating, and the other appears to be teaching Blackberry how to swim, pulling her along as she kicks. MegaMan quickly recognizes them; the one floating around is BurnerMan, and the one teaching Blackberry to swim is PlantMan (or VineMan, still the same NetNavi), who oddly enough got to keep his headpiece.

ElecMan calls over enraged, "What are you two bastards doing to her?"

This easily gains their attention as BurnerMan sinks from being startled, and PlantMan pulls Blackberry to a shallow area for her to rest. BurnerMan surfaces, spitting out the water, revealing his short, spiky black hair. PlantMan swims over to see if he is okay; and he is, only angered. As he looks over to yell at ElecMan, he sees MegaMan.

"...Well, if it isn't the famous Blue Bomber in a kimono. Who's the bitch next to you?" BurnerMan says.

"Why you!" ElecMan tries to say before MegaMan stops him.

"Before ElecMan and I join you in the spring, I just have two questions: 1) why did you kidnap Blackberry, and 2) how the heck are you guys alive?" MegaMan asks.

"I'll answer the first one." BurnerMan says. "We didn't actually kidnap Blackberry. She just happened to find one of the cyber flowers and activate it in some way that lead her here. The real question is why PlantMan's flower appeared in her page at all."

PlantMan replies, "To answer the second one, we're not quite sure how we're alive. One second we're deleted, and the next this weird Navi brings us back and tries to corrupt us into his soldiers; we resisted and ran off. As to why my flower appeared in Blackberry's page, I could sense an odd aura coming from somewhere, and I created a vine with flowers to find it. If she made any kibd of physical contact with the flower, it must've created a path back to me to show me where the aura was; Blackberry just so happened to follow it through a tunnel."

MegaMan looks at Blackberry and says, "Blackberry, didn't you learn to never folow something strange?"

"But I was curious. Not to mention, if I didn't follow it, I wouldn't have ended up here!" Blackberry says, before splashing MegaMan and ElecMan.

In the Human World, Lan and Count Zap make it to Yokayoka Hot Springs, finding a terminal in the area. They're able to reconnect with their Navis and get an update. Both are surprised to learn that PlantMan and BurnerMan are back, besides finding that Blackberry is safe. With nothing to worry about, Lan and Count Zap need to find something to do, but if they plan on using the spring, they know for a fact they both have to pass the water taste test.

"It is really the last thing I wanted to do. I failed it 10 times." Count Zap says.

"When I tried to sneak into the spring, Tamako challenged me to a NetBattle." Lan says.

"Do you think we should try again?"

"Only to fail again?"

The both sigh heavily in disappointment.

Hours pass by quickly. The NetNavis: MegaMan, ElecMan, BurnerMan, PlantMan, and Blackberry are relaxing peacefully in the cyber hot spring, trying to get Blackberry to learn to swim. Count Zap and Lan, however, try the water taste test again, and somehow manage to pass, gaining access to the hot spring. Within the few hours that came and gone, everyone was able to relax, till it came time to head to SciLab. With Blackberry now in Count Zap's PET along with ElecMan, and MegaMan back in his PET, they are able to head to SciLab, only to find that BurnerMan and PlantMan are following by jacking into the train's computer.

A while later, they arrive at SciLab, being greeted by Yuichiro himself. Although Count Zap is no longer a part of WWW, Yuichiro is still wary of him. He leads the two to his lab where a small Dimensional Area space from the earlier Cross Fusing experiments went on. Once inside the lab, Yuichiro takes Count Zap's PET, places it in the computer, and both ElecMan and Blackberry appear in the DA space.

"Oh, you two appeared there, huh?" Yuichiro says.

"I can't stand being in a PET." Blackberry says.

"That's fine. I can still scan you from here." Yuichiro says.

He turns back to the computer where he begins the scan. He is able to find her stats, which are still as bad as when she was born. The scanning also reveals her abilities, sensativity to Battle Chips and Dark Chips, as well as the Sibling Program. There isn't much Yuichiro can do about her stats due to her being a Solo NetNavi; he says they will have to grow over time. Her newest ability, Lolita Boomer, is found to be just as how Lan's PET described it, as well as discovering she has other abilities, but not much left to learn. It appears that the abilities are only learned when Blackberry is experiencing something traumatic. The Battle Chip sensativity is due to her being born in a tank, but also from something else. Turns out the mass of Bug Frags she was born from contained some data left behind from NetNavis that could use Battle Chips was downloaded into her. The Program Advances and any chip that is considered to be strong are an absolute danger to Blackberry as they are too strong for her to currently handle, and could not only damage her, but possibly delete her. The sensativity to Dark Chips is due to the fact that Blackberry has attacks thar are considered Light instead of Dark, as anything Dark is her weakness.

"My, she is an interesting little NetNavi. And her Sibling Program is a new one too. It says here that she is indeed related to Bass as a failsafe for if he somehow acquires too much dark energy, that she is to cancel it in order to balance things out. But unfortunetly, with Wily's intervention, she was born too soon, thus making her weak and...oh my...slightly unstable." Yuichiro says.

"What do you mean unstable?" Lan asks.

"Well, for some reason her weak status makes her data unstable, and her inability to battle proves that. The other thing is her being able to use Battle Chips; Solo Navis are supposed to be independant. Uh-oh, and that's what's making her unstable." Yuochiro says as the scan reveals the error.

"So, what are you gonna do?" Count Zap asks.

Yuichiro looks at Blackberry who is watching the computer carefully, and replies, "I may have to do some reprogramming to her data, taking out her ability to use Battle Chips."

"What? But she'll be completely defenseless!" Count Zap says.

"Not entirely. If I take that out of her programming, she'll soon learn the attacks that Bass knows. They'll just be less powerful and Light instead of dark." Yuichiro explains.

"That reminds me. Dad, you know how that when I used the SynchroChip the first time, it took away MegaMan's ability to use Style Change? Well, a couple days ago when we were fighting this NetNavi called Brave Geyser, MegaMan was able to use the Style Change." Lan says.

"He was? Hmm...it must have something to do with Blackberry. Count Zap, I'm going to give you ElecMan back for now. Blackberry will have to stay here with me for a while so I can do some more scanning and reprogramming." Yuichiro says.

ElecMan is logged out from the Dimensional Area cube as the PET is jacked out of the computer. Yuichiro hands back Count Zap's PET. Blackberry quickly becomes frightened as she was not logged out with ElecMan. Although the guys feel bad, it's for the best. As Lan and Count Zap are about to leave, Blackberry's cries for them holds them back. Even Yuichiro is having trouble coping with her cries for them. That's when Lan gets an idea.

"Hey Dad, is there a way that we can stay for Blackberry's sake? I'm sure her cries won't be the easiest thing to deal with if we leave." Lan asks.

"I'm sorry guys, I can't. There's no where I can stick you two." Yuichiro replies.

"Then how about if we keep her company and inform you two of any changes?" BurnerMan is heard saying as he and PlantMan appear in the Dimensional Area cube.

"That I can live with." Yuichiro says, unable to say no.

"But I want Zappy and ElecMan and Lan and Mega to stay!" Blackberry cries.

"I'm sorry Blackberry, I can't let them. But having those two stick around is better. You'll only be here overnight. {I hope.}" Yuichiro replies.

Blackberry looks down in sadness, but has no choice but to accept to her new conditions. Count Zap and Lan, and their NetNavis say good-bye to Blackberry, promising to return to SciLab. However as soon as they leave the lab, Blackberry uses Holy Aura in an attempt to keep Yuichiro from scanning and reprogramming her. BurnerMan and PlantMan have a feeling they're in for a long ride, as calming down Blackberry is more than a chore.


	6. From Bright to Dark

Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "[abc]"

**NOTE FROM RYDRAKE:** I will warn you now, I am unaware of the events after the _Axess_ season, as _Stream, Beast, and Beast+_ never received an English adaption. I am also unable to find any episodes with English subs, so no flames or anything similar.

Chapter 6:  
From Bright to Dark

At home, Lan can't stop thinking about Blackberry. He hasn't known her long, but the fact of her being there without ElecMan almost scares him. MegaMan is having issues coping with it himself, as Blackberry's personality is like that of a child, and her cries stick in his head. At the Curry shop, with the new electric stove fixed, business couldn't be better. However, for Count Zap and ElecMan, not having Blackberry to mess things up, and her cries haunting them, they couldn't function right. Even WackoMan and Maddy are affected, as WackoMan was usually the one to chase down Blackberry before and after she messed up. Although MagicMan was enjoying the silence, even he missed all the noise. Even though they know it was only going to be for one night, they were going to miss Blackberry's constant begging for someone to read her, or tell her, a story so she could sleep.

At Wily's base, Wily and Adamant Enigma had received news from the female Navi that she was in Brightland, and faked being in distress in order to get inside Princess Pride's castle walls. She has also met and fought with KnightMan on one occassion, finding out he still carries an AntiVirus Program.

"Well done my crafty but shy soldier. You know what to do soon I hope." Adamant Enigma says.

"Yes, My Lord. It may take a little time, but I can assure you this new Firewall will be taken down, and KnightMan will be ours. However, there is a small problem." the female Navi speaks, a heavy french accent present.

"It's Darkland, isn't it?" Wily asks.

"What is Darkland?" Adamant Enigma asks.

"Darkland and Brightland are bitter enemies. Should Brightland's Firewall fall again, Darkland will quickly hear of it and try to invade Brightland's systems." Wily replies.

"I'm afraid he speaks the truth, My Lord. I may need some assistance on this one, just to keep them out long enough for MegaMan to come here with the Bass Twin." she says.

"Hmm, I suppose I could give you a good number of Life Viruses; much much stronger than their original counterparts. As long as everything else is going according to plan, we are fine." Adamant Enigma says.

"Thank you, My Lord. And yes, so far, so good. I will let you know when the Firewall has been torn down so you can send me the Life Viruses." the Navi says.

"Good. Now go and take it down. I will start to create the Life Viruses." Adamant Enigma says.

The Navi bows to Adamant Enigma and the transmission is stopped. Wily has some data on the Life Viruses that he gives to Adamant Enigma, but not before questioning his methods on bringing out MegaMan and Blackberry.

"Even if the Bass Twin does not show, I am not worried. If this one fails me, I will simply create another NetNavi to bring her out into the battlefield in time to be captured. She has a wonderful program that I intend to use before this place is discovered." Adamt Enigma replies, recreating the Life Virus.

At SciLab, BurnerMan and PlantMan have convinced Blackberry to lower her Holy Aura so Yuichiro can scan her more thoughroly. Although she complies, she is not pleased at the fact that she will have to be reprogrammed. As Yuichiro continues his scan on MegaMan's Style Change returning, he finds it's all part of her Sibling Program. Apparantly it has a secondary failsafe to it, by recovering data that was either corrupted or taken away from a NetNavi, in this case, MegaMan's Style Change. The Cross Fusion between MegaMan and Lan is still workable around this, but both programs are severely altered by this sudden change. Each Style Change has been limited to 5 minutes of use, while the Cross Fusion has been cut to about 8 minutes. As he scans more on this, he soon discovers the Sibling Program has a bug in it, another effect from being born too soon. This can be fixed, but he may have to scan MegaMan when Lan returns to see if the Style Change is permanent or temporary. Yuichiro knows he must fix these bugs while reprogramming Blackberry. And now is a better time than never, but getting Blackberry to relax and sleep was going to be a challenge.

PlantMan has an idea that if flawless. He creates a flower in the palm of his hand, and while Blackberry is distracted by playing around with her aura, he shakes the flower over her head, and a pollen-like powder falls from it. She doesn't seem to notice, until she feels drowzy and falls asleep. Yuichiro then manually teleports her onto his computer for better scanning and to reprogram. However, during the first scan to locate the bugs that have made her data unstable, he finds something deeper: her personality. It seems to almost match that of a child's which further explains her timid nature (despite the almost deletion by Wily), shyness, playfulness, battle style, need for companionship, fearfulness, stubbornness, and any other characteristic. This he finds is a permanent fix due to her premature birth; if Bass had exhibited any overflowing darkness, it would've not only summoned Blackberry, but it would've meant her personality and even looks would be slightly more mature. This he claims would have to be a part of her experience later in life, but the idea of an aging Navi makes him laugh; so far, no NetNavi can age unless the data is meant to make the Navi have elder-like features.

He gets on with the reprogramming, first taking on her Sibling Program. He quickly finds the bug, which amazingly isn't too large to handle. He manages to get rid of the bug, which fixes Blackberry's Sibling Program; now it's main function of balancing the Light and Dark elements between her and Bass are back to normal.

Meanwhile, back at home, while Lan is reading manga, MegaMan suddenly feels a change that he can't explain. This gets Lan's attention, and he starts to look through MegaMan's data, finding the ability to Style Change is gone again. Lan wonders if this has anything to do with what might be going on at SciLab to which MegaMan guesses might be a result.

Back at SciLab, with the Sibling Program fixed, Yuichiro moves onto his next task at hand: her ability to use Battle Chips. When he first scans this part of Blackberry, he finds multpile bugs within her data, all from the mass of Bug Fragments she was born from. This he finds will take him a while, and tells BurnerMan and PlantMan to let Lan and Count Zap know the update. The two Navis nod to this, and teleport away to find the NetOps.

Meanwhile in Brightland, Adamant Enigma's female soldier is working hard on taking down the Firewall. However, she is caught by KnightMan who was inspecting the area. He tries to confront her, but she uses an ice attack that freezes him over. The Navi grins and giggles.

"My apologies KnightMan, but I can't let you stop me. Not only will I take down this Firewall, but I, Timid Tundra, will make you a soldier to My Lord. Your AntiVirus Program will soon be ours, along with the Bass Twin." the Navi says.

Back in DenTech, Lan is about to have dinner, till his PET starts to beep nonstop. Disappointed with the timing, he heads upstairs to MegaMan only to get a disturbing message.

"The call is coming from Brightland; it's Princess Pride." MegaMan says.

"Princess Pride? Better put it through." Lan says.

A screen pops up with Princess Pride saying, "Lan, it's horrible! I need your help now!"

"What's going on, Princess Pride?" Lan asks.

"This NetNavi KnightMan rescued has gone completely insane! She's destroyed the new Firewall we put up a long while ago, and has KnightMan as her hostage!" Princess Pride answers.

"You've gotta be kidding! But you know I can't get to you fast enough from here." Lan says.

"That's okay; I contacted one of your friends to help you get here." Princess Pride says.

"Why do I have a strong feeling she contacted Yai?" MegaMan asks.

Another screen pops up with Yai saying, "Because she did. Come to my mansion, Lan."

MegaMan yells, "Okay, too much damn clutter! I'm being squished here!"

With that, Lan has no choice but to rush to Yai's. However, just as he takes the PET away from its station, BurnerMan appears accidentally inside the PET, falling on top of MegaMan, successfully squishing him. MegaMan manages to push BurnerMan off him, and the two stand up. BurnerMan informs him and Lan about Blackberry's status, saying her Sibling Program is debugged. MegaMan says it explains the odd feeling from earlier that took away his Style Change. As BurnerMan tries to leave the PET to return to SciLab, he finds it's impossible; it's because he arrived through the cables. Lan says he may be of some help anyway, and rushes out his room, and soon out the front door.

A few hours later, Lan and Yai are in Brightland, and being lead by Princess Pride through the castle to the security room, where Timid Tundra has KnightMan right next to the destroyed Firewall, only he is still completely frozen. Lan jacks in MegaMan, and BurnerMan is able to follow through the laser. They arrive within the Firewall area, fibding Timid Tundra sitting on an ice chair. She is another animal-like NetNavi, this time, she is a white rabbit. Her outfit consists of a lolita dress, and on her head is a fake tie-on yellow carnation. Her eyes are a magnificent blue color. Her limbs are that of a rabbit's, only she is bipedal, meaning she can stand on two feet and not four. She even has a fluffy tail sticking out of the dress, before the dress fans out. She has stuck KnightMan in the middle of the Firewall machanism (where it has separated), preventing anyone from closing it.

"Who are you, and what do you want with KnightMan?" MegaMan demands.

Timid Tundra replies, "So you are MegaMan. Oh, but you didn't bring the Bass Twin. Ugh, this completely destroys my plans. Anyway, my name is Timid Tundra. The only thing I want with KnightMan is to suck out the AntiVirus Program Data sitting inside him. Me destroying the Firewall was the only way to summon you here to Brightland."

"I never did like Playboy French Maid Bunnies. But I'll be more than happy to turn you into rabbit stew." BurnerMan threatens.

"...Playboy? French Maid? I'll have you know I favor the Lolita Style! And how dare you call me a Playboy Bunny!" Timid Tundra shouts.

"But your lolita outfit looks like a french maid outfit. Not to mention your accent and the fact that you are a bunny isn't helping you right now." MegaMan says.

"You missed the playboy part." BurnerMan states.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! You'll pay for mocking me like that! Take this you rotten men! CYBER WHITEOUT!" Timid Tundra shouts before unleashing a thicker form of Cyber Blizzard.

BurnerMan and MegaMan are cut off guard by the attack, but not before BurnerMan activates all his jets, preventing any frozenm status. When the attack ends, BurnerMan wastes no time in using his Burning Jet attack, screaming towards Timid Tundra at high speeds. Although she is hit, he also keeps going ramming into the frozen KnightMan. However, Burning Jet isn't melting the ice, and he stops his jets.

Timid Tundra laughs and says, "You cannot melt my ice! Whether it be propane or pure fire, my ice will not melt unless you defeat me."

"In that case, we'll have to do just that. Mega Buster!" MegaMan says, using his Mega Buster to fire at the rabbit Navi.

Timid Tundra dodges every shot, but not before BurnerMan surprises her with his Blue Fire attack, which acts as a flamethrower. The fire comes out of the jets where his hands would be, and Timid Tundra is stuck in them, but she suddenly uses Ice Tower to block the attack. BurnerMan uses Burning Jet and smashes through it. MegaMan is given a Flame Sword to combat the bunny. However, she uses her own attack, Snowflake Captivtion, aiming it at the two NetNavis. This attack sends heart-shaped cyber snowflakes at the opponent. BurnerMan is able to cancel the attack using the hand jets, but MegaMan is struck several times, knocking him onto the ground. When MegaMan stands up, he finds he's suddenly infatuated with Timid Tundra. BurnerMan and Princess Pride see that Snowflake Captavation makes her foes attracted to her so they won't attack. When Lan tries to download a Mini Bommer, the PET won't accept the chip. Timid Tundra tries this attack again on BurnerMan, but he simply melts the thing flakes. This time he uses a new move he came up with after his revival: Ignition Tower. It acts like Fire Tower, but flies across the area more quickly. Timid Tundra is hit by the attack, but does not go down. Lan tries to download the TorchSoul Chip, but again, the PET does not accept it. MegaMan is too deeply infatuated with the bunny Navi, leaving him completely defensless.

Timid Tundra uses Cyber Whiteout again, to which BurnerMan is surprisngly caught in, as the Ignition Tower left him tired and unable to defend. When the attack ends, he is frozen solid. Timid Tundra laughs as she is clearly victorious; BurnerMan is frozen solid and MegaMan is trapped in infatuation. She returns to her chair and has MegaMan come over. Lan calls MegaMan's name, but to no avail; he was hit by several heart-shaped snowflakes. She creates another chair for the Blue Bomber and he sits next to her.

"Might as well prepare for your NetNavis to be mine, humans. You won't be getting them back anytime soon." Timid Tundra says.

A voice emits, "You'll be nothing more than a Rabbit's Foot when I'm done with you."

Out of nowhere, a portal opens, bringing through Roll, GutsMan, and shockingly, Bass himself. Timid Tundra stands up and is shocked to see Bass has arrived instead of Blackberry.

"Roll! GutsMan! What are you two doing here?" Lan asks.

"Your father contacted us saying that Blackberry was sensing danger from here." Roll answers.

"She kept saying MegaMan's name and mentioning a castle. Roll immediatly knew what Blackberry meant. Guts guts." GutsMan replies.

"Then why is Bass with you?" Lan asks.

Bass looks at Lan and Princess Pride and answers, "...I could sense a powerful NetNavi. Your Navi friends were heading to the same area, so I simply followed."

"Feh! Either way, you'll end up frozen! But why the hell is the Bass Twin not here?" Timid Tundra says.

Bass quickly focuses on the bunny Navi. His sharp and deadly gaze was starting to really freak out Timid Tundra. Before anyone knew it, he had suddenly slammed her up against the mechanism holding her by her neck. MegaMan sees this and uses his Mega Buster to attack Bass. He puts up his own aura and takes no damage. GutsMan's shadow is suddenly over MegaMan, and he suddenly slams down on the small blue Navi, pinning him to the ground. GutsMan then lifts up MegaMan and follows suit with Bass, only in this case, GutsMan is holding MegaMan's arms in place. Roll runs up to them and tries to snap MegaMan out of the infatuation, but nothing is working.

Bass slams Timid Tundra against the mechanism again demanding, "ANSWER ME! What did you mean by 'Bass Twin'?"

"Ngh...you are strong. I'm never telling you, Bass." Timid Tundra replies.

"WRONG ANSWER!" Bass shouts, soon using Hell's Rolling, but holds the circular blades in his hands.

With then, he slashes violently at Timid Tundra, any area hit soon becoming deleted data, unable to be repaired. He makes one final downward slash at her, sending her into the ground. As the smoke clears, he lands and marches over to her, picking her up again by her neck. He demands an answer about his twin, using his other hand to hold up a Hell's Rolling blade to Timid Tundra's neck.

"Okay! I'll tell you. You have a twin sister. She is named Blackberry, after her emblem image. All I know is she's been under the care of another Net Navi after Wily tried to delete her due to her being so weak!" Timid Tundra replies.

"...Blackberry, huh? Then she must be what I've been sensing for a month. Although I should thank you for telling me, I still can't let you live." Bass says.

Timid Tundra tries to use Snowflake Captivation on Bass, but it has no effect. She is stunned that it failed.

"Sorry, but I'm not about Furries." Bass says before using Buster Rake, deleting Timid Tundra.

The frozen BurnerMan and KnightMan are released from the icy prison. KnightMan gets out from in between the Firewall mechanism. The two ice chairs disappear, along with the shattered Ice Tower. KnightMan tells GutsMan to hold MegaMan against the ground so he can shut the mechanism and restore the Firewall. GutsMan does as asked, and KnightMan uses his Royal Wrecking Ball to use it as a hookshot of sorts, and pull down from the top half. BurnerMan decides to assist KnightMan, and the two successgully close the mechanism, restoring the Firewall. The Life Viruses that had been positioned outside to keep Darkland out had been deleted by the restoration and Timid Tundra's deletion. However, there was still one problem; even though Timid Tundra was deleted, MegaMan is still trapped in the infatuation.

"MegaMan has weird taste in women." Bass says.

"GutsMan think that Roll may be able to do something." GutsMan says.

"Hey yeah! PlantMan was telling me that the two had something in common when MegaMan went to save Roll. Maybe if she, oh I dunno, kisses him or something, he may snap out of it... oh no...ACHOO!" BurnerMan suggests, before he suddenly sneezes.

"I'm out." GutsMan says, not wanting to see it happen, leaving through the portal.

Bass says with a look, "Oh yeah, he's got that typical mind set."

Although Lan wasn't much for it either, he stands by and watches as Roll tries to kiss MegaMan on the lips. BurnerMan laughs calling it the ultimate in desperation. Bass shakes his head at the comment. When Roll stopped, MegaMan soon returns to normal, asking what just happened and why the Firewall is suddenly up and running. Roll hugs MegaMan saying she's glad he's back to normal.

A few moments later, it was time to leave. BurnerMan and Bass had found a way onto Yai's jet, and Roll left through the portal. Princess Pride thanks MegaMan for helping. However, Lan's stomach decides to join in on the conversation, Yai saying Lan can eat on the way back.

At Wily's base, both Wily and Adamant Enigma are disappionted at Timid Tundra's failure. She had not obtained any data on the AntiVirus Program, as well as Blackberry not showing up. However, Adamant Enigma has another idea of how to capture Blackberry.

On the jet, as Lan was enjoying his meal, he, Yai, and Glyde were filling him in on what happened during his hypnotic infatuation. He was shocked that BurnerMan suggested Roll to kiss him, but was at the same time glad, otherwise he may never have snapped out of it. BurnerMan and Bass were in the jet's computer system doing nothing more than lounging around, till BurnerMan brings up Blackberry, saying she's been under Count Zap and ElecMan's care for a month.

"I guess she's grown quite attached to the two then." Bass says.

"She's grown attached to everyone. But I think she's still getting to know PlantMan and I." BurnerMan says.

"Where is she anyway?"

"At SciLab. Lan's father apparently found some bugs in her programming that's made her data unstable. She was meant to come to life if you ever overloaded on darkness for some reason, and balance the Light and Dark elements out; almost like a failsafe to you. And yes, her element is opposite yours."

"A Light element, huh? That makes us a living YinYang. What confuses me is why her emblem is different from mine, if this Sibling Program is supposed to make us related."

"It could be because Wily brought her out of the Bug Frag mass she was in. Lan's father, Yuichiro, said that she was born prematurely, resulting in bugs in her. While he has her Sibling Program fixed, he's trying to get rid of the ones that contain data that let her use Battle Chips. That's the one thing he's trying to get rid of so her data becomes stable."

"...I see. BurnerMan?"

"Yeah Bass?"

"Do you think, when we return to DenTech, that you could bring me to SciLab to see her?"

"...Sure. I'm sure she'll be glad to finally meet you when she wakes up."


	7. Thickening Clouds

Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "[abc]"  
Language Translation: "abc [def]"

**NOTE FROM RYDRAKE:** I will warn you now, I am unaware of the events after the _Axess_ season, as _Stream, Beast, and Beast+_ never received an English adaption. I am also unable to find any episodes with English subs, so no flames or anything similar.

Chapter 7:  
Thickening Clouds

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE WAS KIDNAPPED?" Bass explodes in a rage.

Lan, Yai, Bass, and BurnerMan had returned home late at night. While Lan and Yai went home, Bass and BurnerMan went to SciLab, only to find Blackberry is missing and not within SciLab's systems.

"I didn't say she was kidnapped, Bass." Yuichiro tries to defend, afraid of what damage Bass can do.

"But she's missing! And she was still unconcious, right? Someone kidnapped her!" Bass argues.

"Easy, Bass. Yuichiro fell asleep for only five minutes after a hard day of debugging Blackberry to make her a nice stable Solo Net Navi that is unable to use Battle Chips. I was watching in here and continued some of the debugging after watching Yuichiro all day, and all of a sudden she vanished." PlantMan explains, staying calm.

"Did the moron leave anything behind that we can trace?" BurnerMan asks.

"Well, I found this thing." PlantMan says, holding up an envelope.

"That...is an email, dumbass." Bass says.

"It doesn't have anyone's name on it though, so I didn't open it." PlantMan says.

"Okay PlantMan, I can understand that part, but the whole part of protecting Blackberry is looking at any evidence left behind by the criminal, including unmarked messages." Yuichiro says.

PlantMan hangs his head saying, "I Fail."

BurnerMan takes the envelope and opens it, pulling out a piece of paper. He reads it aloud, "Let's see...'I have taken Blackberry from under your nose. But I won't hurt her at all. Instead, I'm bringing her some place...fun. All you have done all day is clean out her data...give the girl a break for a bit. If you want to find her, the clue will play a few seconds after you have fully read this.' And that's it. Doesn't sound like this guy's a threat."

All of a sudden music fills the air and this song begins to play a certain part:  
_Tell me did the wind sweep you off your feet  
Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day  
And head back to the milky way  
And tell me, did Venus blow your mind  
Was it everything you wanted to find  
And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there_

"I don't get it." Bass says confused.

"The milky way, Venus...could it be about that new Cyber Planetarium that was recently built in Northern NetCity?" Yuichiro asks, thinking out loud.

"I think he's onto something. Problem is, despite it being on the Net, it's only active when the Planetarium itself is active. We'll have no choice but to wait till morning." BurnerMan says.

"Damn. {This is just great. My one chance to meet my sister and someone takes her away from SciLab.}" Bass says.

"There's just one problem: she wasn't fully debugged yet. The computer's saying it was only 76% complete. The minute you guys find Blackberry, rush her here immediatly. I'm not sure how stable her data is." Yuichiro says.

PlantMan freaks, "Talento Epico FALLAR! [Giant Epic FAIL!]"

"You can speak Spanish?" Bass, BurnerMan, and Yuichiro ask is surprise.

"Eh...a little...sorta..." PlantMan replies, feeling like he did something wrong.

Morning comes, bringing in the new day with the rising sun. The rays just barely peek over DenTech City's buildings. Businesses all over town start to open up. However, not everyone is the definition of "early bird".

"Lan! Wake up, dammit!" MegaMan yells.

Lan moans, "Not now MegaMan...gimme another day..."

"I've been at this for two hours! You have an urgent message!"

"It's probably Blackberry..."

MegaMan facepalms unable to get Lan up. He decides to look at the urgent message to see what it says. Upon listening to the message being from PlantMan, he's shocked to hear that Blackberry was kidnapped last night with only 76% of the bugs in her system taken care of. MegaMan tries again to wake Lan, but Lan had fallen into a deep sleep. Unable to do much from being set in the PET Dock Station, he creates a message and sends it to ProtoMan, soon spreading the word to ElecMan and WackoMan. After, MegaMan sits down, trying to think of another way to get Lan up. Just then, BurnerMan appears.

"What the hell, you're Net Op ain't up yet?" BurnerMan asks.

"I've been struggling for two hours. I should be the one sleeping, to tell you the truth." MegaMan replies.

"So should I. Well, if he ain't gettin' up, then you better just come with me."

"But I can't jack in without Lan!"

"Yes you can. It's called Glitching the System. How else would I appear in your PET?"

"The cable."

"Feh. Come."

BurnerMan grabs onto MegaMan's wrist and opens a portal to NetCity, and tosses him in. While MegaMan is flying through the tunnel, BurnerMan creates a message and posts it on the screen, then takes off. Both of them arrive in NetCity within seconds, with MegaMan landing in a tree. BurnerMan had transported him and MegaMan to the park.

Moments later at Chaud's House, ProtoMan had woken up his Net Op from his first day of sleeping in. Groggy and somewhat aggrivated by this, Chaud responds and grabs his PET. He notices the Net Saver Badge is back, which even ProtoMan was surprised to find. He explains that short message saying the suspension has lifted, and they can use Battle Chips in NetCity again.

"There is also an email from MegaMan. I have yet to look at the contents." ProtoMan mentions.

"If it's from MegaMan and not Lan, then something's up. Let's see what it's about." Chaud says.

ProtoMan opens up the email and it overtakes the PET screen. MegaMan is seen sitting back and says, "Hey, sorry to bother you guys. But, there's a bit of an issue going on, and I can't get Lan to wake up, after two hours of failed attempts. PlatMan messaged us saying that Blackberry has been kidnapped during her debugging, which only 76% was cleared. He says that Yuichiro has no idea how stable or unstable her data is because of this. However, the culprit left a message with a part of the song _Drops of Jupiter_ by Train, and BurnerMan thinks whoever it is took Blackberry to the Cyber Planetarium. I'm copying this message and sending it to ElecMan and WackoMan so they know and can act fast. For now, I'm hoping you two can help till I can wake Lan. See you later." The PET screen returns.

"That isn't good." ProtoMan says.

"Not at all. Okay, we better head to the Planetarium then. It should be open by now." Chaud says.

"Jack me in here. We can meet up at the Planetarium."

"Good idea. Okay, Jack-In ProtoMan! Power Up!"

In NetCity, ElecMan and WackoMan had arrived near the Coliseum together. ElecMan is more angered than worried, wanting to delete the kidnapper. WackoMan is serving as the Voice of Reason, trying to keep ElecMan calm, and not do anything risky. They walk through NetCity, heading to the Northern Section, and they soon see BurnerMan and MegaMan up ahead, with MegaMan still pulling leaves out of helmet, boots, and gloves. They call out and run up to them, soon asking why MegaMan is in NetCity.

"BurnerMan ripped me out of my PET since he couldn't wait for me to wake up Lan." MegaMan replies, pulling out several leaves from his right glove.

"That was nice." ElecMan says in a sarcastic way.

"ElecMan's on edge after hearing the message; you'll have to forgive his attitude." WackoMan says.

"It's understandable. If someone stole my woman, I'd be pissed too. Though, if it were me, NetCity would not be standing." BurnerMan says.

"You're all here too, huh?" ProtoMan says.

ProtoMan is standing in back of the group, behind WackoMan and ElecMan. He walks up to them and says that they should get moving before something bad happens to Blackberry. BurnerMan brings up that Bass is already there, having left early this morning. Knowing this, everyone becomes quiet, and they start running to Northern NetCity.

Meanwhile, at the Cyber Planetarium, Blackberry is happily playing in the newest exhibit called Bouncing Planets. It's a fairly big room with black padded walls and floors, painted perfectly like the Milky Way. The floors have large versions of the planets, including the sun, that visitors can jump on like being in a bounce house. Anything that can be bounced off of plays a quick tune, including the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Asteroid Belt, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto (which is said to NOT be an existing planet because of its size), Halley's Comet, All Kinds of Stars, Comets and Asteroids, and most Constellations (which emit musical tunes). The NetNavi that took her from SciLab is there with her, bouncing around as well. Bass is in the Main Lobby where NetNavis have to check in, and are given a Planetarium Visitor Badge on a lanyard. Bass has yet to get his as there is a long line in front of him. Just then, MegaMan, BurnerMan, ProtoMan, ElecMan, and WackoMan arrive.

ProtoMan marches to the front of the line, demanding entry for him and his party while flashing the NetSaver Badge. The NetNavi behind the desk grants the entry, and hands them Official Planetarium Badges, saying they can't get through without them. With that, everyone takes a badge, and heads into the Planetarium itself, trying to figure out which exhibit Blackberry could be in. The screens floating around the room start to play advertisments showing off pictures of the new Bouncing Planets. After the pictures, it shows live footage of the room, where Blackberry and her culprit are seen bouncing on Saturn's Rings.

"Wait a second, that's NovaMan!" MegaMan says.

"NovaMan? Oh yeah, now I remember! Ugh, why didn't I think it was him sooner?" BurnerMan says, remembering his past as a Darkloid.

"Is he dangerous?" ElecMan asks.

"He doesn't seem that way. It doesn't look like he's harmed my sister, either." Bass says, looking at the live footage.

"We better head there and get her back to SciLab. She still needs to be debugged." BurnerMan says.

As they all rush off, WackoMan is slightly taken by the footage, seeing how much fun Blackberry and NovaMan are having bouncing around.

"Hehe, that looks like so much fun. Hey guys, can we play in there a while?" WackoMan asks.

"NO!" everyone replies as Bass grabs a hold and drags WackoMan along.

They all reach the Bouncing Planets Exhibit minutes later, finding Blackberry and NovaMan still bouncing around. WackoMan wants to join in badly, but the others hold him back. Bass steps in front of the group and removes his cloak, in order to get his sister's attention. Blackberry sees the falling cloak, and sees the group as it falls onto the floor. She bounces off Neptune and lands on the floor, and NovaMan soon follows. She stands and stares over at Bass, knowing for a fact just by looking that he is her brother.

"Blackberry, come here, right now." Bass commands.

"...Are-are you, really Bass?" Blackberry asks.

"Oh crap! That means I'm in for it!" NovaMan freaks.

blackberry turns to NovaMan and says, "No you're not. After you told me where you were taking me, I williningly went with you."

"You what? Blackberry, what if NovaMan was a dangerous Navi? You could've been deleted." MegaMan says.

"Didn't you teach her right from wrong and to never leave with strangers, ElecMan?" ProtoMan asks.

"Believe me, Count Zap and I would beat that stuff into her head, sometimes literally. But sadly, her child-like personality just doesn't get it." ElecMan replies.

"I'm actually completely harmless. When I woke up, I remember my deletion. I just don't know how I was brought back. But one thing's for sure; I can't use any of my attacks. And frankly, neither can Blackberry." NovaMan says.

"When PlantMan and I were brought back, we could attack right away. How come you can't?" BurnerMan asks.

"If I remember correctly, when I was brought back a few hours ago, more or less last night, this shadowed Navi said that my power level was still trying to recover, so I can't defend myself. When I got away from the Navi, the first thing I thought of was 'Planetarium'. All of a sudden I could sense another odd Navi, and I find Blackberry. She looked like she was bored, so I 'stole' her and brought her here." NovaMan explains.

"Yeah well, Blackberry needs to return to SciLab, now. Yuichiro, the human who was debugging her, doesn't know how stable her data is." ProtoMan says.

"But, I don't wanna go back." Blackberry says.

"You have to, Berry-chan." Bass says, thinking he can win her over using a nickname.

"...Berry-chan?" Blackberry asks.

ElecMan facepalms and says, "Oh man, don't get her into creating nicknames!"

"I wouldn't mind if she did that with me." MegaMan says, thinking it'd be cute.

"Last thing I want her to do is call me 'Elec-chan'; I'm older than her!" ElecMan argues.

Blackberry walks over to Bass, attracted to the new nickname. NovaMan walks over to the rest of the group hoping they might let him off. This isn't true as ElecMan bashes NovaMan over the head. BurnerMan picks up NovaMan by his scarf, finding he has swirls for eyes from the harsh hit. The group soon looks over at the Twins, watching as Bass lifts his hand into the air, and Blackberry tries to match hers up with his. Blackberry sees his emblem, finding his mark to be different from hers, soon using her raised hand to feel his emblem.

"What on Cyber Earth is going on?" BurnerMan asks confused.

"This is something to report; Blackberry's imprinting." MegaMan says.

"I thought that was only with humans and animals." ProtoMan says.

"Don't forget though, Wily brought her into the world too soon, so her Mind Set doesn't match up with ours well. The best example is ElecMan and Count Zap trying to teach her right from wrong." MegaMan says.

"She never did that with us." WackoMan says, crossing his arms.

"You're not her brother." ElecMan says.

Although this imprinting would be important to Blackberry, Bass says it's time she returns to SciLab. She willingly agrees to go, much to the group's relief. As they're about to leave, Chaud is not only able to connect with ProtoMan, but he says that a Dimensional Area has appeared around DenTech's Planetarium.

In DenTech's Planetarium, Chaud watches as a hoard of viruses - Mattuar, Spikey, Shrimpy, Melody, Kilby, Billy - start to attack at random, mostly trying to destroy the building. Suddenly, a NetNavi appears. This one is another Animal-Type Navi, taking the form of an Eagle, with no human-like characteristics to it. It has an odd coloring; a white body, grey wings and head, light grey tail, black feet, yellow lightning strikes on the head crossing over its eyes, purple lightning strikes across the body stretching down to the tail, and red lightning strikes going across the wings. It is standing with its wings stretched out at full wing span. This Navi stood at least 6'05" tall, and its wing span is immeasurable. Chaud prepares his PET with some Battle Chips, but is interupted by the Navi as it throws feathers at him, sticking him into a wall by his shoulders. The Navi locks him onto the wall by tossing more feathers at his legs and arms.

"If I were you, I wouldn't think about struggling. Not unless you want to get over 3000 volts of electricity shot through your body." the Navi speaks, his voice sounding like _Kenpachi Zaraki_ from _BLEACH_.

"Over 3000 volts? Who are you, and what do you want with the DenTech Planetarium?" Chaud asks.

"I am Serious Nimbus. And I don't want anything from this pathetic human place. I can sense the Bass Twins here. Hand over Blackberry and I promise no one will be injured. I'm a Bird of my Word." Serious Nimbus replies.

"Sorry, that isn't going to happen." Chaud says.

"Oh really? Then what would you say if I did this?" Serious Nimbus asks, raising his wings high and commanding, "Cross Life!"

Suddenly, a dark swirling vortex opens up in the ceiling. Several lightning bolts crash down onto the ground, revealing the Net Navis. They had been brought into the Dimensional Area by Serious Nimbus. Blackberry clings onto her brother, Bass, in fear. NovaMan finally comes to, seeing Serious Nimbus. The Navis all look over at the Eagle, not sure what to make of the situation. Serious Nimbus targets ProtoMan, and throws his wing feathers at him, nailing him to the wall across from Chaud. Before MegaMan could act, Serious Nimbus blocks him, and thwacks him in the head with his wing, sending various amount of volts throughout the Blue Bomber's body. MegaMan falls to the ground unable to move and in major pain. BurnerMan lets go of NovaMan in order to attack using Strike Burner. However, Serious Nimbus covers his body in an electrical field, and the fire and electricity creates an explosion, sending everyone flying.

Bass keeps a tight grip on his sister as the hit the ground. Chaud and ProtoMan are released from the feathers, and Chaud uses the Syncro Chip. Within seconds, the two had successfully Cross Fused, and Chaud immediatly initiates the Sword Program Advance, striking Serious Nimbus before the Navi can make another move. When the smoke clears, Serious Nimbus is revealed to have no injury.

"I admire your determination to protect the Twins. But, that Program Advance has no effect on me whatsoever. I am immune to all Sword-Based Attacks! If you rely on Sword Chips, then you will have a tough time defeating me." Serious Nimbus says.

"{Shit! That's all I put in is swords!}" Chaud thinks.

"Chaud, use the ElectroSword!" ProtoMan calls out.

"But he's immune!" Chaud replies.

"Just listen to your Navi dammit! MegaMan can't move, and Blackberry is in no position to fight!" NovaMan says.

"What about you?" Chaud asks.

"Oh, my power level's returned. Think up a strategy kid, I'll take care of this giant turkey." NovaMan says.

Chauds nods and runs off to gain distance. NovaMan takes his position, ready to fight Serious Nimbus. NovaMan quickly uses Meteor, summoning several meteors from cyberspace. Serious Nimbus dodges them all and uses a similar attack called Raining Hail. NovaMan is hit by the numerous hailstones, but isn't done yet. He uses Star Arrow, where yellow beams of light come flying out of cyberspace. Serious Nimbus is hit, and in return ruffles his feathers. Any injury left from Star Arrow had been fixed.

"That was a good shot. Despite it being weak, it left annoying burns behind. Take this...Lightning Strike!" Serious Nimbus says.

The Eagle's body lights up, and he soon shocks NovaMan with seemingly no end. However, the attack does end, and NovaMan falls, defeated, and unable to Log Out. Serious Nimbus approaches NovaMan, when all of a sudden, Cross Fusion ProtoMan returns using the ElectroSword, performing a downward slash from above. Serious Nimbus simply whacks him with his wing, and Chaud hits the ground. Serious Nimbus nails him to the ground, the feathers sending 2000 volts through both Chaud and ProtoMan's bodies. With that, the Cross Fusion stops, the PET flying out of Chaud and the Syncro Chip ejecting from the slot. That's when Bass flies in with his Hell's Rolling Attack, the circular blades making contact with Serious Nimbus. They too, have no effect.

"What? Those should've sliced right through you!" Bass says.

"Sorry, but even though your Hell's Rolling isn't a Sword-Based attack, it still counts as a blade." Serious Nimbus says.

"Then try this one! Darkness Overload!" Bass shouts, firing a large energy blast at the bird.

Serious Nimbus is hit, and the attack causes a small explosion. When the smoke clears, Serious Nimbus is seen recovering by ruffling his feathers, healing any damage done.

"You are a persistant Navi. Keep this up, and I may just delete you." Serious Nimbus says, glaring at Bass.

"And you're an annoying opponent. I will not let you near Berry-chan." Bass says.

"That I can see. But even you, Bass, are no match for me. Three of your friends are unable to continue. Sad though, I thought MegaMan would be stronger."

"He doesn't exactly get hit in the head a lot."

"Whatever."

Serious Nimbus uses Raining Hail, but Bass covers himself in his Life Aura, which protects him from the hail. That's when Serious Nimbus headbutts Bass out of nowhere, actually cutting through his aura. Bass sees how this is done but looking at the wings; the feathers had fanned out and created electric razors that cut through his aura. Bass goes flying into the wall, but comes dashing out using Buster Rake, firing multpile energy shots at the Eagle Navi. Serious Nimbus flies up to avoid them all, and Bass smiles at this, obviously expecting it to happen. Bass raises his hands up in the air and summons an orb-like version of Darkness Overload, successfully trapping Serious Nimbus. With the Eagle Navi trapped, Bass then turns this Darkness Overload into Chaos Nightmare, thrusting the attack into the ground. An explosion occurs from the critical impact, blowing away Chaud, Chaud's PET, and NovaMan. Bass floats down and lands, keeping his aura up.


	8. Berrychan

Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "[abc]"  
Language Translation: "abc [def]"

**NOTE FROM RYDRAKE:** I will warn you now, I am unaware of the events after the _Axess_ season, as _Stream, Beast, and Beast+_ never received an English adaption. I am also unable to find any episodes with English subs, so no flames or anything similar.

Chapter 8:  
Berry-chan

Blackberry caustiously walks out into the battlefield, having rushed some located humans to safety with BurnerMan, ElecMan, and WackoMan. Chaud's PET flops around till it slides over to Blackberry's feet. She picks it up, finding the Synchro Chip has been ejected. ProtoMan is not seen within the PET screen, suggesting he is lying below the visual standpoint. She looks over to see her brother continuing to face off against Serious Nimbus using his Rake Buster. She then sees Chaud and NovaMan lying motionless on the ground in front of her. She isn't sure what to think of the situation. She knows she is unable to fight due to her debugging being incomplete; she can't put up her Holy Aura, not that it would be of much use. Chaud suddenly comes to and pushes himself up so he is on his hands and knees. He looks up at Blackberry, seeing she's holding his PET.

"Blackberry..." Chaud starts, "I need you...to send out a message..."

"But to who?" Blackberry asks.

"I know a Net Saver...he has a Net Navi by the name of..."

An explosion occurs, stopping Chaud from speaking. Blackberry looks out towards the battlers, finding Bass at the mercy of Serious Nimbus; the Eagle Navi is holding Bass down on the ground with his foot. Serious Nimbus tries to crush Bass by repeatedly pressing down on his emblem, in an attempt to delete him. All of a sudden, a charged Buster Shot flies across the lobby and hits Serious Nimbus in the face, forcing him off of Bass. When everyone looks over towards the hall, they find MegaMan has recovered from the hit to the head. MegaMan charges up again, and fires another Charge Shot, striking Serious Nimbus's tail. This throws Serious Nimbus into a scare and he takes off and suddenly crashes into the window, going right through it. MegaMan lowers his buster and runs over to Chaud first.

"Chaud, are you okay?" MegaMan asks as he helps him up.

"Serious Nimbus's power is as his name suggests...he beat me and ProtoMan while we were Cross Fused." Chaud replies.

"Really? Oh man...he's a lot tougher compared to Brave Geyser and Timid Tundra." MegaMan says, as he sets down Chaud against a a window sill.

"Mega-kun, I don't like the way things are going. Isn't there a way to get rid of the Dimentional Area?" Blackberry asks.

"I don't know. If Lan was here, I could use DoubleSoul SearchSoul to find the generators, but I don't know where they are." MegaMan says.

Blackberry looks down in disappointment. She looks over at Bass and runs over to him, still holding onto Chaud's PET. She closes in and kneels down next to him, finding he is not doing good. She reaches over and touches his emblem, and it starts to glow a pink color. The two become surrounded by a pink swirling aura, and a heartbeat sound emits. The PET as well starts to glow pink. Chaud and MegaMan watch in awe. ElecMan and BurnerMan arrive on the scene to see what's going on, only to see the pink swirling aura. Bass opens his eyes, discovering he is not longer in any pain, and looks up at his sister.

"...You...it looks like you gained a new ability." Bass says with a smile.

Blackberry shakes her head no and says, "It's the Sibling Program, I know it."

"Ngh...it is. It's the Sibling Program. I can feel my strength returning." ProtoMan says, standing up, now able to be seen on the screen.

"I think I know what to call it...Airi Echo." Bass says.

"Airi Echo?" Blackberry asks.

"Yes. 'Airi' in this case, will mean 'affection'." Bass says.

Then, all too soon, a bolt of lighting screams in through the broken window and strikes Blackberry, sending her into a wall, canceling out her Sibling Program's new ability, and making her drop Chaud's PET. Serious Nimbus isn't out just yet; he climbs back in through the window, ruffling his feathers in order to recover from the two Charge Shots.

"My word, that is some good power you have there, MegaMan. It's too bad I had to take down my real target." Serious Nimbus says, having climbed back inside the building.

"You bastard! How dare you strike Blackberry!" ElecMan says, using Thunderbolt, striking Serious Nimbus.

After the attack ends, Serious Nimbus asks, "Really? Is that all you got? I can easily absorb that."

"Absorb this! BURNING JET!" BurnerMan shouts, activating all his jets and screaming towards the Eagle Navi.

Serious Nimbus flies upward to avoid, and BurnerMan turns around and jumps into the air. Serious Nimbus flies up higher, avoiding the second attack. MegaMan uses another Charge Shot and hits Serious Nimbus, making him hover lower. BurnerMan turns around again, jumps, and makes contact on his third try. Serious Nimbus falls to the ground on fire as BurnerMan lands, turning off his jets. The flames die out, and the Eagle Navi rises once more, ruffling his feathers. Bass stands up and prepares to use Darkness Overload, but Serious Nimbus smirks. An electric ring forms around his body, and it starts to grow bigger, forming a cynlinder around him. He then stomps the ground, sending out a strong electric pulsation that affects only the Navis, and they are shocked to the point their HP is gone. ElecMan however, absorbs the attack, able to save himself. Everyone else, excluding Chaud, ProtoMan, and NovaMn who was defeated earlier, fall to the ground defeated.

"Well, it seems you, the human, and his NetNavi have survived my ultimate attack. I like to call it, Fatal Voltage." Serious Nimbus says.

"Fatal Voltage?" Chaud asks.

"Yes. It is known to cause instant deletion, but apparently your friends are stronger than they appear. Unfortunetly, Navis that are already knocked out unrelated to my attacks, or knocked out by me, do not suffer the deletion effect. I am, however, very impressed you have absorbed the attack, ElecMan." Serious Nimbus explains.

"You have an awful lot of knowledge about us. Tell me, who is your master?" ElecMan asks.

"Hmph. I have two, actually. One my Master gets along with, who is a human, and my Master who created me." Serious Nimbus replies.

"What are their names, bird shit?" ElecMan demands.

"You're one to talk. The human goes by the name of Wily, and my Master's name is Adamant Enigma." Serious Nimbus replies.

"Wily? As in WWW Wily?" Chaud asks shocked.

"Uh, I believe so. I don't know what WWW is. All I know is, my mission is to capture Blackberry and bring her to my Master. Now then, prepare for deletion!" Serious Nimbus replies.

"That won't be happening. We'll just be absorbing each other's electric attacks." ElecMan says.

Serious Nimbus takes to the air, and surprises ElecMan by diving down with no electric field or move. ElecMan embraces for the attack, and is hit, being flung out a window. Serious Nimbus goes after ElecMan, which gives Chaud the opportunity to run and grab his PET. Once he grabs it, he takes hold of the Syncro Chip, and goes to grab other Battle Chips. But, he stops from grabbing even one, and looks over at Blackberry, who is now climbing out of the wall. She was able to avoid Fatal Voltage due to the wall's structure being able to handle electricity. She falls onto her knees, showing signs of pain from the electric attack. Chaud looks at his Syncro Chip, thinking fusing with Blackberry might be the only way to keep her safe and out of danger.

"Chaud, I know what you're thinking. Blackberry's data is not stable; pulling off a Cross Fusion, even attempting it by taking advantage of the Sibling Program, might destroy her." ProtoMan says.

"But what can we do, ProtoMan? The both of us are still too weak to keep fighting. If I can Cross Fuse with Blackberry, I might be able to keep her safe for Bass's sake." Chaud explains.

"No...don't fuse with me..." Blackberry says, her voice sounding staticy.

Chaud looks over at her and finds some of her data is breaking apart. This is bad, as it's a good sign her data is critically unstable and can no longer hold onto it. Serious Nimbus comes flying in using his diving tackle to send ElecMan flying into a wall. When ElecMan tries to move, he finds his electric generators attached to his back are stuck in the wall, making him stuck. Serious Nimbus lands and starts to close in, confident he will win. That's when Blackberry intervenes and blocks Serious Nimbus from ElecMan, despite her data falling apart in certain areas. Serious Nimbus demands Blackberry to move, and she refuses. ElecMan begs for her to move, and she refuses. Just then, out of nowhere...

"WACKOBALL!"

The big polkadotted ball hits Serious Nimbus's back, forcing him to turn around and face his new attacker: WackoMan. Not one for jumping out into the front line, he is the only one left able to fight, and is fully determined to save Blackberry.

"Ngh, I don't remember you being in the line-up." Serious Nimbus says.

"That's because I got the humans to safety first. Now take this: Fire Tower!" WackoMan replies, summoning the Red Mini-WackoDoll, and it releases the Fire Tower.

Serious Nimbus moves to the side to avoid, but doesn't count in his wingspan and is hit by the tower. Before he can heal, WackoMan uses his WackoBall once again, then summons his Blue Mini-WackoDoll and uses Water Tower. This tower easily hits Serious Nimbus as he was distracted by the WackoBall, which returns to WackoMan. As WackoMan keeps up this pattern of attack, first using a tower, then his ball, Chaud and Blackberry pull ElecMan free from the wall. ElecMan tells Blackberry to stay with Chaud, as he jumps through the previously broken window and searches for the Dimensional Area Generators. Chaud looks at Blackberry, finding more of her data is coming off of her. She doesn't have long before a deletion takes place. Chaud suggests trying to use her Sibling Program's new ability, Airi Echo, but she says she can't due to her data falling apart.

Outside the building, ElecMan finds one of the generators being guarded by the viruses that appeared earlier. He zaps them into deletion using Thunder Strike. He then jumps up onto the side of the building, climbs onto the generator sticking out, and starts to absorb its electrical energy. Within seconds, the generator's power is gone, and the Dimensional Area starts to slowly disappear.

Inside, the Navis quickly start to feel the effects of the Dimensional Area collapsing. Serious Nimbus lets out several cries in anger.

"You miserable fucks may have won this round, but expect me to return! I WILL TAKE BLACKBERRY NEXT TIME!" Serious Nimbus shouts before Logging Out.

Once the Dimensional Area fully collapses, all the Navis return to the Cyber Planetarium, save for ProtoMan. WackoMan uses his Blue Mini-WackoDoll to splash water on MegaMan, NovaMan, BurnerMan (much to his anger), and Bass. They all wake up, having a small percent of HP to spare to move around. Chaud jacks-in ProtoMan to get Blackberry, but they all find that she was laying on the bouncy Sun unconscious, and more of her data coming apart.

Bass's fear shows as he runs over crying out, "BEERRRRYYY-CHAAAAANN!"

The others quickly follow as Bass picks up his sister. WackoMan notices Bass's cloak still lying on the floor, grabs it, and covers up Blackberry to try and keep her data together. This seems to work, though she is wrapped tightly enough to restrict movement. She wakes up, and looks up at her brother.

"Bass...you really are my brother...aren't you?" she asks with a smile.

"Of course. And you're going to be okay now; we're going to get you back to SciLab." Bass says, trying to hold back his tears.

"Brother...if I survive this...can I have a pet Mettaur?" Blackberry asks.

"You can have whatever you want; I won't say no." Bass agrees.

"Don't say 'if you survive', sweetie. You **will** survive this. You're a tough little cookie." WackoMan says.

BurnerMan announces, "Guys, I've opened a portal to SciLab. Let's go, now."

With that, and without words, the Net Navis enter the portal. Chaud then creates a message, and sends it to everyone he knows, telling them about the whole battle, not missing a single detail, despite being knocked out for a little while. After he creates the message, he can't help but think why Serious Nimbus didn't use Fatal Voltage while he was Cross Fused with ProtoMan. He thinks that maybe he didn't put up much of a fight that he wasn't worthy of deletion. In this case, he's glad.

Moments later at SciLab, Blackberry is found to not being doing well at all. Yuichiro reports that she is beyond critically damaged, on top of her data being very unstable. The Sibling Program's new Ability, he says, seems to have saved her for the most part. He scans everyone else, finding their data to be perfectly fine, MegaMan, ProtoMan, and ElecMan can be fixed by their Net Ops; WackoMan received no damage from the fight as he joined in late and kept a well-thought out distance from Serious Nimbus. He would have to work on BurnerMan, NovaMan, and possibly Bass after he is able to stabilize Blackberry with some help from PlantMan, who has learned some techniques during the event. He wraped his vines around the areas where the data is coming off of Blackberry in order to help Yuichiro recover it more easily. For now, the Net Navis wait in the Dimensional Area Cube.

"I feel like this is all my fault." Bass says.

"No, it's my fault. I'll take full blame and responsability for this. If I didn't take her away from SciLab, she wouldn't be like this." NovaMan says.

"It's no one's fault. Blackberry would've found a way out of her debugging, and even if it was completed, she would've come to join in the fight. I'm ver surprised she's hung on for this long." MegaMan says.

"She's such an adorable little thing. When she recovers, I won't stop her from screwing up in the kitchen anymore! She can do whatever she wants from now on." WackoMan says says, confident Blackberry will recover.

"What if...she doesn't recover? If she ends up deleted, do you think there will be enough back-up data to bring her back?" ElecMan asks.

"Don't talk like that, ElecMan. You're in love with her, for crying out loud!" WackoMan protests.

This catches Bass's attention instantly as he asks in a demanding tone, "What did you just say?"

"Uh-oh, you just struck a nerve, Clown." ProtoMan says.

WackoMan says trying to hide the statement, "Did I say he was in love with her? I-uh, I meant he loves her as a good friend!"

Bass simple glares at ElecMan, who shoots back a look of his own.

"Whoa, easy, guys! Last thing we need is to see Blackberry upset by your fighting." MegaMan intervenes.

"Why do I have a feeling they're going to fight anyway? Why does the male gender have to be so aggressive anyway?" NovaMan asks.

"But, you're a guy." BurnerMan says.

"But I'm not that kind of aggressive! I'm more playful than anything." NovaMan argues.

"I'm right there with ya, NovaMan." WackoMan seconds.

Suddenly, Yuichiro comes across a problem. He is unable to revive Blackberry's data by normal means. He would have to use someone who can Cross Fuse as a base to recover her data. The other issue is, there is no one her size in order for him to pull it off. NovaMan quickly realizes he's around Blackberry's height, as he is shorter than MegaMan. He quickly volunteers to be the base Yuichiro needs to recover Blackberry's data. Yuichiro says it's risky to use another Navi as a base, as the Navi's data could be rewritten. Just then, Lan and his friends arrive, along with Maddy and Count Zap. Although MegaMan is glad to see Lan, he isn't too happy to see him at this point. Quickly learning of the situation, everyone realizes that Blackberry is close to deletion. Despite being taller than Blackberry, Lan volunteers to be the base, wanting to help make things right since he wasn't there for MegaMan during the fight. Yuichiro okays the decision, since Yai is far too small to be a base. Lan is dressed in a hospital gown and placed in the MRI-like machine. A glass door closes over him. On the table next to him appears Blackberry. This reminds him of the time he had to serve as a base for MegaMan so his dad could recover the data.

"Okay Lan, you know the drill. If you feel any kind of pain, you press that button to your left." Yuichiro says.

"Got it." he replies, then looks over at Blackberry, "{I'm sorry, Blackberry. If I had woken up, none of this would've happened. I could've given MegaMan the DoubleSoul WoodSoul and Serious Nimbus would've been deleted. But instead, I kept sleeping. Please, don't hate me when you wake up.}"

The recovery process begins. It starts like the Cross Fusion, starting with Blackberry's boots surrounding Lan's feet. Once they fully form, he can immediatly feel the pain Blackberry is in, but refuses to press the button to stop the process. He tries his best to hide his pain, as he wants to hang in there for Blackberry.

"Hey, Yuichiro..." Count Zap starts.

"What is it?" Yuichiro responds.

"If Blackberry, doesn't pull through, will there be enough back-up data to bring her back?" Count Zap asks.

"At this point, it's unlikely. MegaMan got lucky when he was deleted, and so did ElecMan. With Blackberry being this badly damaged, I doubt she'd have enough data to create a back-up of her own. Her survival depends on Lan right now." Yuichiro explains.

"I see..." Count Zap says, becoming depressed at the thought.

"Will you stop thinking like that? How about you be helpful and play a song for Blackberry, instead of moping." Maddy says.

"You're right, Maddy. I can't give up on her now! Hmm, but what song should I play for her?" Count Zap says, his spirit restored.

"I have a question: can you guitar lyrics?" Bass asks.

"Sure I can! What song do you have in mind? I can play ANYTHING!" Count Zap says.

As the recovery works its way up to Lan's thighs, everything appears to be going smoothly as Blackberry's legs are recovering well. Just then, Count Zap sets up his amplifier, makes sure his guitar is in tune, and vety glad he brought it with him, and starts to have his guitar sing _You Are Not Alone_ by Michael Jackson. Blackberry picks up on the guitar's notes, quickly identifying the song. She remembers Count Zap doing the same thing on the first night she tried to sleep at his home, and Count Zap plays the song the way he is now, at that time, to lull her to sleep. Hearing the guitar play, Blackberry's data stops coming off of her, and the recovery goes faster than planned. At the same time, Lan feels no pain as his arms and torso become covered. This is a good thing, as Yuichiro can fully recover Blackberry, and complete the debugging process.

A couple hours later, Blackberry's data is recovered, and is 100% debugged. However, just from her damage, she will have to rest a while, and remain at SciLan should anything happen. Maddy, Count Zap, Chaud, and Lan and friends decide to stay, waiting for Blackberry to awaken and see everyone. The Net Navis remain in the computer system so the Dimensoinal Area Cube can be shut down for a while. Bass sits holding his sister, waiting for her to wake up and see him first. ElecMan stays close, but is kept at a distance by Bass's glares. The two would have to get along while Blackberry is active, in order to keep her happy.

Meanwhile, at Wily's base, Serious Nimbus reports back to Wily and Adamant Enigma, explaining his failure. Although neither Wily or Adamant Enigma were happy with him, they are pleased that he returned alive. Adamant Enigma is especially pleased that Blackberry's Sibling Program is starting to wake up.

"What do you mean, Master?" Serious Nimbus asks.

"You see, I've been waiting for her Sibling Program to fully activate. This new ability tells me her secret program has been awakened for the greatest disaster for me to bring." Adamant Enigma replies.

"I like the sound of this great disaster. Tell me, what would it be?" Wily asks.

Adamant Enigma turns and says, "The complete destruction of mankind!"


	9. Bass vs ElecMan

Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "[abc]"  
Language Translation: "abc [def]"

**NOTE FROM RYDRAKE:** I will warn you now, I am unaware of the events after the _Axess_ season, as _Stream, Beast, and Beast+_ never received an English adaption. I am also unable to find any episodes with English subs, so no flames or anything similar.

Chapter 9:  
Bass vs ElecMan

"Master, when do you plan to bring your idea to life?" Serious Nimbus asks, as he is being recovered by a Healing Program within Wily's computer programs.

"Not right now, but soon. I can sense that the young Bass Twin is not 100% yet. I will give you the word to attack if she ever enters NetCity." Adamant Enigma replies.

"There is one thing I do not understand, Adamant Enigma. Why are you so bent on destroying humanity as it stands?" Wily asks, as he is a human, after all.

"...I cannot tell you, Wily. I will spare a few humans for the sake of data recovery, should anyone be completely injured. However, I will delete those who I deem weak. That blue Navi and his friends are first to go." Adamant Enigma answers.

"Um, Master, there's a slight flaw in your plan..." Serious Nimbus says.

Adamant Enigma stares at the Eagle Navi and demands, "What do you mean?"

"Well, Blackberry has an interest in one particular Navi. I noticed it while he was fighting me; electricity has an odd way of communicating." Serious Nimbus replies.

"It is ElecMan." Wily says.

"You mean that spaz of a Navi? Keh, she will have to learn to live without him then." Adamant Enigma says.

"Adamant Enigma, you are a very strong Navi, but it is here I must show concern. After witnessing the events thus far, ElecMan's power has undoubtedly increased over time. When I brought Blackberry out of that BugFrag mass left behind from the Cyberbeast, or Gospel, whichever you choose to call it, ElecMan and WackoMan took a quick liking to Blackberry. MagicMan and TorchMan remained slightly skeptical of her; as of now, I am uncertain of what they're thinking. When I planned on deleting her, however, it was ElecMan and his NetOp, Count Zap, who saved her and cared for her. Getting close to Blackberry with Bass, ElecMan, or any of the other Navis around will prove to be very difficult." Wily explains.

Adamant Enigma remains silent for a moment, then speaks, "In that case, I may have to pull the plug sooner before sparks begin to fly, in the end creating a beautiful fire of passion."

"...What on Earth is he talking about?" Wily asks, not sure what to think.

"Master is...quite...odd. When he realizes something, he speaks in a way that confuses others. I can actually understand what he just said." Serious Nimbus replies.

"Then tell me what he means!" Wily demands.

Serious Nimbus says, "Okay..." he pauses, sighs, and continues, "...when a girl Navi and a boy Navi like each other very much-"

Wily interrupts him, "I thought your name was _Serious_ Nimbus, not Naive Pigeon."

"...As any human would say, 'Go screw yourself.'" Serious Nimbus replies.

An hour later at SciLab, everyone tries to remain patient, waiting for Blackberry to wake up. In order to pass time, the Navis would play Poker using CyberCards (which can be obtained anywhere if the system has one kind of card game), while their NetOps played Blackjack. While Lan and the others are fairly equal, Glyde and Bass proved difficult to defeat, even once. Although Bass was still holding onto Blackberry, he found a way to hold his cards; he'd use part of his Life Aura, manipulating it into a pair of hands. Pretty soon, it was down to just Bass and Glyde, and, in order to keep things completely fair, ProtoMan dealed the cards. NovaMan stood behind Bass, as if waiting for Glyde to show a sign that he is lying about having a good hand. In turn, MegaMan stood behind Glyde, keeping an eye on Bass's face. They begin to move certain cards around. When Glyde takes one, he gains a look of surprise on his face, and starts to smirk. Bass picks up a card, and shows no sign of his current hand being good or bad. MegaMan knows he is unable to help Glyde with Bass's poker face.

"So, whatchya got?" Bass asks.

Glyde lays down his cards and says, "I've got a Four of a kind." The cards are 4 kings and a 10.

Bass smiles, which sends chills down Glyde and MegaMan's spines. Bass lays down his cards and says, "Royal Flush." All the cards are of the Heart suit.

"What? How on Earth did you pull that off?" Glyde demands.

"Isn't that a near impossible hand?" MegaMan asks.

"Only if you're clueless on how to really play the game. During my time in NetCity, I went around to a lot of clubs, playing mostly card games. I just excel in Poker." Bass replies.

BurnerMan smirks and says, "Did you play for CyberDrugs?"

"Dude! What's wrong with you? That is nearly an insult to me!" PlantMan exclaims.

"By what means?" BurnerMan asks.

"Do you not know what weed is?" NovaMan asks.

As this odd conversation carries on between BurnerMan and Bass, Blackberry's eyelids start to quiver. She then slowly opens her eyes, finding her vision to be very blurry. When they become half way open, her vision clears, and she sees Bass first, despite him now arguing with BurnerMan. Speaking here won't be able to get his attention. Blackberry reaches for the collar of Bass's cloak, and tugs on it. He doesn'y notice at first, which only irritates his sister. She then proceeds to yank on it - HARD. Bass is pulled foward while his head is still turned the other way, but does not fall over; he does let out a near gagging sound as if being choked. The NetOps look over at the computer where the Navis still are, and soon gather in front of it. Bass looks down to find his sister is awake, and still holding onto his cloak.

"...Berry-chan?" Bass asks.

"Hey alright, she's awake!" NovaMan says.

"Welcome back, Blackberry." MegaMan says.

"Oh yay! When she regains her strength, I'm taking her to the Cyber Amusement Park!" WackoMan says excitedly.

"You had us all pretty scared, kid." ProtoMan says.

"How are you feeling, Blackberry?" Roll asks, kneeling down in front of the twins, petting Blackberry on her head.

Blackberry lets go of Bass's cloak and happily replies, "I'm feeling a lot better than I did a while ago. But, why do I still feel weak?"

Yuichiro answers, "It's because of not just the damage you endured, but the fact that you are now bug free."

Lan says, "Blackberry, this means you're unable to use Battle Chips from now on. You do understand that, right?"

"...I'm not gonna like having no defense from humans like you and Count Zap, but I understand. Does that mean I can't enter PETs?" Blackberry replies.

"You still can on your own free will. BurnerMan's a Solo Navi, and he's found his way into Lan's PET a couple of times now." Yuichiro says.

Bass then stands up, still holding onto his sister. He then sets her down, seeing if she can stand. After taking a couple steps back, Blackberry stood just fine, till her physical weakness caught the better of her, and she falls back. She is quickly cought before hitting the ground by ElecMan; this in turn angers Bass for obvious reasons. While the kids stand confused by Bass's anger, only understanding the "older sibling" reason, Maddy can't seem to completely understand, sensing something else.

"I don't get it." Maddy says. "Why is Bass so jealous of ElecMan?"

"Isn't it obvious? ElecMan's much taller, and Blackberry's been with him and I much longer than anyone else!" Count Zap says.

Yuichiro takes the two aside and quietly gives a different reason. This only shocks Maddy and Count Zap, leaving them both to not believe Yuichiro right away. Count Zap soon starts to recount the times ElecMan acted strangely whenever a male Navi belonging to a customer got too close to Blackberry. Maddy starts to see it as well, when WackoMan started joining ElecMan in defending the small and defenseless Navi. All of a sudden, Bass rips Blackberry away from ElecMan, and this sparks an arguement. The other Navis started to prepare to stop any battle that may arise; MegaMan prepared his MegaBuster, ProtoMan with his sword, BurnerMan with one of his hand jets, and PlantMan with his vines.

"The hell's your problem, Bass? I've known her longer than you have! I even took care of her; you should be thanking me for it!" ElecMan shouts.

"Oh, I am thankful, but your time of being a care giver is over. She is, after all, **my sister**." Bass says.

Blackberry soon finds she can't handle the tension and says, "Let go of me, Bass!"

Bass is oblivious to her cry as ElecMan says, "Hey, I fell for your sister the second I saw her. I don't consider myself her 'care giver' anymore."

"Oh crap...ElecMan just entered Fuckville." Maddy says.

"No kidding; Bass looks like he wants to kill him now." Chaud says.

"Glyde, I'm sending you a cannon! Be ready for anything!" Yai says, downloading a random cannon chip.

"Get your GutsHammer ready, GutsMan!" Dex says.

"Roll, I'm sending you a few Roll Arrows; be careful!" Maylu says, downloading three of said chip.

Bass stares as ElecMan, rage quickly building up inside. He replies, "Are you saying you consider yourself her boyfriend?"

"You deaf?" ElecMan retorts.

"{Shit!} Brother please, don't hurt him!" Blackberry begs, now struggling to get out of Bass's grip.

"Oh I won't hurt him..." Bass starts, "...I'LL DELETE HIM!"

"Come on then!" ElecMan challenges, charging up with electricity.

"Ngh, Count Zap, do something!" Maddy says.

"ElecMan won't respond; he's refusing to jack-out! He's ready to fight Bass to the finish on this one!" Count Zap says.

"This is bad! BurnerMan! PlantMan!" Yuichiro calls out.

BurnerMan uses Burning Jet to quickly get in between the two, keeping them from directly attacking each other. PlatMan uses his vines to go underground, come up, and force Bass to release Blackberry. Then, he proceeds to constrict both Bass and ElecMan; in the case of elements, PlantMan has the advantage over ElecMan. BurnerMan prepares his other hand jet, pointing his right jet at ElecMan and his left jet at Bass. Soon, Bass begins to levitate, despite being wrapped up in vines. PlantMan is unable to drag him back down, and Bass effortlessly breaks free of the vines, severing them into many pieces. Blackberry watches as she sits on the ground, unable to stand, and then covers her head as the vine pieces plummet to the ground. BurnerMan quickly attacks using a Flamethrower attack directed at Bass, hoping to get him before he uses the Life Aura. Sadly, when the flames cleared, Bass had put up his aura seconds before the flames could touch him.

ElecMan soon breaks free of the vines as well, despite the element disadvantage, recharging his power. BurnerMan uses the same Flamethrower on ElecMan, using both hand jets. However, ElecMan covers himself in an electrical field, and once the elements collided, an explosion occurs, blowing BurnerMan away; Blackberry had used her Holy Aura prior to the explosion in an effort to protect herself. PlantMan soon makes Red and Yellow Flowers appear all around ElecMan and Bass, their pollen quickly being spat into the air. Both Navis make quick work of the flowers. Bass prepares his DarkArm Blade and quickly closes in. ElecMan strikes with Thunderbolt, but can't get the aura to go away. He dodges as Bass swings at him.

What they weren't aware of were the others being prepared. However, except for Glyde's cannon, the others can't do much. Glyde fires his cannon at Bass, able to bring down the aura. MegaMan fires as fast as possible with his buster at both ElecMan and Bass, but purposely missing; he is firing warning shots. There isn't much any of the Navis can do without causing serious damage, or deletion. PlantMan then gets an idea. He creates two big flowers underneath BurnerMan and Blackberry. The petals wrap around them, and the flowers then burrow underground, and pop up next to PlantMan. The flowers open up and the other Navis rush over, finding Blackberry to be very horrified at the event. Suddenly, a two rogue attacks, an Electric Boomer and a Hell's Rolling Blade, both obviously deflected, are hurling towards Blackberry. WackoMan uses his WackoBall to block the attacks, which end up destroying his ball as a result. More deflected attacks hurl around the area at high speeds with unpredictable paths. As Roll uses up two of her arrows, Lan and Chaud quickly decide on using the Sword Program Advance to cancel out all the deflected projectiles; this works well, as neither ElecMan or Bass are hit by the Double Program Advance.

PlantMan soon uses his Plant Weed attacks to create a barrier between them and the battle. The vines prove to hold up well against the attacks. NovaMan is soon seen flying over the vines on a star he had summoned...before it disappears and he falls flat on his face. Blackberry remains scared out of her mind, sitting with her knees nearly touching her chin, and still covering her head, all as tears begin to form. Not one thought enters her mind at this point.

That is, till she cries out loudly, "**MEGA-KUUUUUN!**"

"Ngh, Blackberry!" MegaMan says as he runs over to her.

"Hold on, Blackberry!" Roll calls as she quickly follows MegaMan.

The others try to follow, but BurnerMan blacks them, shaking his head no. They have no choice but to stand concerned, and watch. MegaMan and Roll see Blackberry is scared out of her mind. Problem is, her Holy Aura is still up, but weaker from the emotion. MegaMan aims his buster above Blackberry's head, and fires a small shot that makes the aura disappear. Roll quickly gets next to the frightened Navi and wraps her arms around Blackberry, even taking off her helmet to effectively place her hand on her head. Blackberry soon relaxes her legs so she is no longer scrunched up. MegaMan gets an idea, remembering how Blackberry used Airi Echo to heal Bass, and even ProtoMan. MegaMan reaches over and is able to place his hand on Blackberry's emblem...but nothing happens. However, it soon starts to glow a bright white color. MegaMan removes his hand, and an orb comes out of the emblem, having no ill effects reflecting on Blackberry.

The white orb flies up above the vine wall, and hurls over towards Bass. ElecMan quickly sees the orb, and jumps out of the way. Before Bass could give chase, the orb connects with him. Bass is stopped dead in his tracks, unable to move. A white aura then surrounds him, before causing him pain, zapping him to no end. This aura was not out to destroy him; it begins to turn purple, a true indication it is taking away his dark power. After a few seconds, the orb leaves Bass's body, flies high above the area, and explodes like a firework in the night sky. Bass falls to his hands and knees, panting heavily from the shock. The Plant Weed wall is recalled, and ElecMan and Bass soon see that Blackberry is frightened beyond belief. Both know they're in deep trouble. Roll is still trying to calm Blackberry, but tears start to flow heavily from the scared Navi. Count Zap is more than shocked to see her in that condition.

"Whoa...just looking at her makes me feel like crying..." Dex says.

"Damn! Her power level's completely sunk not only from the event, but her Sibling Program activating as well! Blackberry can't defend herself now!" Yuichiro says, reading her levels on another monitor.

Roll then tells MegaMan to hold Blackberry the way she is, and he agrees to. With MegaMan now trying to calm Blackberry, Roll marches over to ElecMan and Bass. ElecMan is quickly overwhelmed by fear, as Roll wore an angry look that pierced through him like daggers. Bass only stands up and shows no signs of fear. She stops when she comes within ten feet of them. They look at her confused.

Roll then shouts, "You two should be more than ashamed of yourselves for fighting a meaningless battle! Blackberry is scared shitless from it! I can't get her to stop crying!"

"...he started it." Bass calmly says.

"I don't care who started it; I'll END IT if I have to!" Roll shouts.

ElecMan looks down, and then away feeling guilty. Bass continues to look directly at Roll.

Roll sighs and says, "Bass, you're supposed to be her big brother, but you're this thing too far and too soon. You're supposed to protect and care for her, the way a brother should. So what if ElecMan's in love with her? At least he has room in his heart to show such an emotion."

Bass then starts to feel the guilt, and looks away, soon closing his eyes to break any further eye contact.

Roll looks at ElecMan and says, "And you, ElecMan...I know how you feel about her, but you need to also respect Bass's boundries. He's not the kind to trust somebody right away, especially with your history. Let him get to know his sister before he can fully judge you."

"...You're right. I didn't mean for it to go this far and scare her." ElecMan says.

"Chances are she won't come anywhere near us now." Bass says.

"I'm sure she will, but you two not only need to apologize to each other, but to her as well. Maybe after she calms down, you two can come to an agreement of who she'll stay with. But, don't decide for her." Roll says.

"I think she's got enough bravery left. Look behind you, Roll." Lan says.

ElecMan, Bass, and Roll come to find that Blackberry has come over with MegaMan while they were discussing the matter. Blackberry is holding onto MegaMan's right arm, still a bit afraid. Roll steps aside. MegaMan cues Blackberry to approach ElecMan first. She lets go of his arm and she walks over to ElecMan, whose electric generator soon falls off due to the damage Bass had done to it. As ElecMan facepalms in embarrassment, Blackberry giggles a little, finding some comedy in it. ElecMan removes his hand from his face and smiles, soon opening his arms looking for a hug. Blackberry smiles, and walks up to hug ElecMan, him saying he's sorry he scared her. The hug breaks, and Blackberry cautiously approaches her brother. Bass folds down the part of his cloak that blocks his face so he doesn't seem intimidating. The Twins look at each other.

"...I need to be a better brother to you, Blackberry." Bass says.

"...What happened to 'Berry-chan', Nii-san?" Blackberry asks, using the same trick he used on her back at the Cyber Planetarium.

"She doesn't seem too scared of you now, Bass." Roll says.

Bass smiles and says, "Guess I still have my Berry-chan."

Blackberry jumps and hugs her brother, him returning it. Everyone breathes a heavy sigh a relief, knowing this whole mess is over with. Now the only other issue is figuring out where Blackberry wants to stay. Although Bass doesn't want to let go of Blackberry, the hug has to break at some point, and he ends up letting her go.

Yuichiro says, "You two got very lucky on this one."

"Yeah, you did great, Roll!" Maylu says.

"Way to use those Maternal Instincts, girl!" Maddy says.

"You did great yourself, MegaMan." Lan says.

"They all did great! No one got deleted." Yai says.

"Only now I have to fix ElecMan's electric generator..." Count Zap says.

"Oh yeah, I forgot it fell off." Yai says.

"Don't remind me." ElecMan says.

Yuichiro asks, "With this all settled, now it comes to the big question: Blackberry, who do you want to stay with?"

Blackberry soon becomes speechless, and thinks about who she wants to stay with. This starts to worry the group; they were expecting an immediate answer. Moments later she comes to a decision after thinking hard about it.

"I think I'll stay with Mega-kun for now." Blackberry replies.

"What? Why MegaMan?" Bass asks.

"Well, I'm not prepared to be a true Solo Navi yet, and at my power level, I won't be able to really defend myself in the Net. I'd stay with ElecMan, but I think maybe a 'break' from me is necassary after witnessing the fight. If I stay with Mega-kun, I'll be safe." Blackberry explains.

"Makes sense. But you know I'll protect you if you came with me." Bass says.

"I'm afraid of getting separated..." Blackberry admits.

"If that's your wish, then I'll respect it. It'll be a while before I can fight again anyway." ElecMan says, looking at his destroyed generator.

"Is that okay Lan? Can I stay?" Blackberry asks.

Lan replies, "I won't say no to you. Just one thing: don't wake me up in the morning."

Chaud playfully says, "Lazy ass."


	10. Neko Wuz Here

Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "[abc]"  
Language Translation: "abc [def]"

**NOTE FROM RYDRAKE:** I will warn you now, I am unaware of the events after the _Axess_ season, as _Stream, Beast, and Beast+_ never received an English adaption. I am also unable to find any episodes with English subs, so no flames or anything similar.

Chapter 10:  
Neko Wuz Here

Lan is now home with Blackberry in his PET alongside MegaMan once again. The rest of the day carries on normally into the night. However, Lan still has energy to spare, since he had slept well into the afternoon when MegaMan could not wake him. He checks on Blackberry's stats, as instructed by his dad, to see if there are any negative or positive changes. While she may have gained slightly more HP from the debugging, the rest of her stats remained the same. Her power level is still weak from her Sibling Program activating during Bass and ElecMan's fight; it will be a while before she fully recovers. Before Lan could rest the PET in its cradle, Blackberry speaks up.

"Hey, Lan? Do you think, I'll ever get stronger?" she asks, concerned about her stats as a Navi.

Lan smiles and says, "I believe you will, Blackberry. I wouldn't worry very much about it."

"Yeah, we'll always continue to protect you. Even if you learn some of Bass's tricks, we'll still be here no matter what." MegaMan adds in.

Blackberry nods and says, "That's what I wanted to hear. Maybe one day, I'll become strong enough to spar with you guys."

"Haha, you'd make one hell of an opponent at the rate you're going! Even with your current level, you'd still be tough to beat." Lan says.

"It's all because of the aura, huh? But you have strong Battle Chips, especially all those Program Advances." Blackberry says.

"You also have other tricks like Ninja Smoke and Lolita Boomer. You can win against a strong Navi if you strategize first." MegaMan says.

"True." Blackberry agrees, before she yawns for a good few seconds, then says, "Ugh, I'm exhausted."

"You've had a big day. Once you're well rested, your power level should be back to normal." Lan says, as he rests the PET in its cradle.

At Mr. Wily's base, after a half hour has passed, Wily is sleeping in his bed while Adamant Enigma falls into a deep meditation before falling asleep, keeping his mind sharp and focused. Serious Nimbus is preparing to rest his tired body, before spotting something odd sticking out of his cyber nest; it looked like a worm. He grabs it with his beak and pulls it out, finding it's a Neko Virus (unrelated to the one that escaped SciLab). These things are rare to come by and extremely annoying, as even these little guys cause Navis to become cats, but the rate of transformation depends on the Navi's will. Serious Nimbus cannot be affected by the virus's effects, since he is already an Animal-Based Navi, and a bird of prey. Despite being a Navi and not requiring food, cyber food and drinks do exist, and Serious Nimbus chooses to hunt viruses. And this Neko Virus will makea perfect midnight snack. He tosses the virus up in the air and opens his mouth wide. However, he didn't expect the Neko Virus to correct itself (like all cats do as they fall) and it manages to evade being eaten by landing on the Eagle Navi's forehead, and jumping off.

Serious Nimbus gets frustrated, and chases the virus, trying to bite down on its tail. He even attempts to overtake it by jumping over it and slamming down with his mighty talons, but the virus evades every attempt made, further infuriating the Eagle Navi. Eventually, in a _Tom and Jerry_-like manner, the Neko Virus finds a hole and dashes into it. Serious Nimbus did not notice and crashes head-on into the wall, causing him to become disoriented and fall to the ground with swirls for eyes. The virus pokes its head out of the hole, seeing the disoriented Navi, and pokes his beak with its paw; no response. The Neko Virus cautiously leaves the hole, then runs for its life, soon teleporting away from the area. It will be a while before Serious Nimbus recovers from crashing into the wall.

Meanwhile, the Neko Virus finds itself within an alley way in NetCity. It leaves the alley way and starts to explore the town, unaware of it effects on the other Navis. Some of the Navis there start to either unknowingly grow tails or ears, or even a cat-like face with whiskers. The Neko Virus continues its way through NetCity, spreading its own little virus upon the unsuspecting Navis. However, it quickly comes across Bass who has just exited a casino, counting his winnings.

"Perfect. I almost have enough to get myself a place in this city. I can say good-bye to living in that damn condo." Bass says to himself.

"_Meow_." speaks the Neko Virus.

Bass looks down at the virus as it looks up at him with its big green eyes. He stares at it confused, then tries to shoo it away, but it refuses to leave, wanting to go with him. Bass threatens it with his DarkArm Blade, to which it finally leaves him alone and goes on its way. Just then, Bass feels something odd coming from his back. He moves his cloak to look, finding a black tail. He then feels cat ears grow on his head.

"...Fuck me..." he says, feeling aggrivated.

At Lan's house, around one in the morning, Lan is sleeping, dreaming of eating all the world's curry. Unknown to him, something is happening to MegaMan and Blackberry in their peaceful slumber. The Neko Virus had passed by Lan's Homepage, passing on it little virus to the two Navis. As MegaMan regrows the ears, tail, and facial features like before, Blackberry goes through a very quick transformation.

And then, after Lan wakes up...

"WHAT THE HELL? MegaMan! Blackberry!" Lan cries.

"I think we have a new Neko Virus running around, Lan..._mrowr_." MegaMan says, the sounds of a cat becoming a speech impediment.

"I could barely handle seeing you become a cat! But Blackberry! She's...become a complete cat!" Lan says.

Indeed, Blackberry's will was not strong enough to prevent her from turning into a black cat with a magenta head.

"Nyaaah!" Blackberry happily cries out.

"Oh man! I don't believe this! How can there be a new Neko Virus? I thought the one from SciLab was the only kind." Lan says.

"I wish I knew Lan...but even with the Net Saver Badge, I can't use Battle Chips like this. I'm on my own..._meow_." MegaMan replies.

"Nyah, nyah!" Blackberry meows as she rubs up against MegaMan.

"Okay, I am really hoping she isn't in heat!" MegaMan says.

"I'm hoping the same thing with Roll..." Lan says.

Soon, Lan receives a call on his PET and answers it. It's a worried Maylu on the other side.

"Lan, something horrible's happened! Roll's a cat again!" Maylu freaks.

"You should see Blackberry. Okay, I'm going to send a message to everyone saying to meet near Higsby's Chip Shop." Lan says.

"Okay! Oh, I hope this isn't like the last one!" Maylu says.

"I'm hoping the same thing..." Lan replies.

All over DenTech City, NetOps are discovering their NetNavis transforming into cats, most of them at a rapid pace due to weak will. Within NetCity, most of the NetNavis have only gained the three simple features - ears, tail, and facial features - and transforming at a slow rate. Bass meets up with BurnerMan, PlantMan, and NovaMan, finding them with the three features, at a CyberCafe. He tells them of meeting up with the Neko Virus, detailing what it looked like; light tan body, black spots around the green eyes, and white paws.

"Yuichiro told us of the different colored Nekos; they are not experiments of SciLab, but rather a result from the first one, just oddly delayed." PlantMan says.

"Apparently these viruses can be found only in certain areas of the Net. They're rare, but they cause this as a result. The ones that are seen at Cyber Pet Shops are usually harmless and don't cause this." BurnerMan explains.

"I'm really freaking out here! Is it a bad sign if I'm getting an uber craving for milk?" NovaMan says, fidgeting like crazy, unable to deal with the effects.

"...Is he okay?" Bass asks, not the least bit disturbed.

"Don't worry, he has a strong enough will to avoid transforming, but he's become very paranoid. He's been on edge all morning." PlantMan answers.

"I DON'T WANNA BECOME A CAT! I HATE CATS!" NovaMan shouts.

Bass backhand slaps him across the face shouting, "ENOUGH!"

"Like I said..." PlantMan says.

"Anyway, Yuichiro said to find the virus, trap it so it can't escape, and delete it. Believe it or not, it's a threat to everything here. Once it's deleted, all NetNavis will be back to normal in under an hour." BurnerMan explains.

"An hour? It must be due to all the Navis then. I can only hope that my sister's okay..." Bass says.

"She seems like a strong kid; she'll manage." PlantMan says.

A while later, Lan is glad to see that those he had sent messages to arrived: Maylu, Yai, Dex, Chaud, and the ex-WWW members. Although not happy to be pulled from their resturant, #1 Curry can't function with the NetNavis looking like cats. The only bad thing is, Blackberry isn't the only one with a weak will; WackoMan and ElecMan had become complete cats, with GutsMan on his way (his body is like a cat's), MagicMan and TorchMan only have the three features, and Roll and ProtoMan now having the speech impediment. All are shocked to discover that Blackberry was unable to fight the transformation.

"Oh man, I thought she'd be able to fight it. I mean, she is Bass's sister after all." Dex says.

"This...is...HUMILIATING." ProtoMan growls.

"I think what we need to do is find the virus and delete it! If we can pull that off, then our Navis should return to normal!" Count Zap suggests.

"It's a good idea, but the problem is where don't know where the Neko Virus is." Chaud says.

Just then, Bass appears within Chaud's PET, as he is unable to fit himself with Lan's. Bass takes one look at ProtoMan, finding he isn't the only badass Navi that's slightly transformed.

"Bass, what are you doing here?" Chaud asks.

"Besides seeing if I wasn't the only badass that transformed, I have a message for you and the others. Basically, Yuichiro wants everyone to try and find the Neko Virus, trap it so it can't run, and delete it. Upon it's deletion, all NetNavis will return to normal in under an hour." Bass explains.

"Hey cool, my assumption was right!" Count Zap says.

"Yes, good call." Yahoot says.

"Hey, I'm concerned about Blackberry. Is she okay?" Bass asks.

The group looks at each other, not sure how to completely break it to him. Maddy, Count Zap, and Lan sigh, showing their PETs to Bass, as Chaud has his face the others. Bass is more than overwhelmed to see his sister did not pull through well, but most of it coming from the fact that ElecMan had lost to it as well; he shows no such concern for WackoMan.

"Listen you two; you keep Blackberry and ElecMan AWAY from each other! Understand?" Bass quickly demands.

"What are you afraid of, _meow_?" ProtoMan asks.

Bass looks at ProtoMan and says, "Do you not know that NetNavis can actually breed? Last thing I need is for those two to mate!"

"Wait, are you saying NetNavis can actually have kids?" Dex asks, a bit disturbed by the fact.

"...Yes. Didn't any of you see a female NetNavi carrying a baby before?" Bass replies.

"Come to think of it, a day after LaserMan's defeat, I saw a few of female Navis carrying babies. I thought it was just one of those odd programs, so Navis could learn about maternal instincts." Maddy recalls.

"In that case, I will not jack-in ElecMan." Count Zap says, disappointed.

"Okay, this is really disturbing. How is it even possible for NetNavis to get pregnant, _mrow_?" ProtoMan asks.

"The same way humans do. Anyway, let's hurry and find that virus!" Bass replies, returning to the matter at hand.

Bass teleports away, becoming a quick infared light going into a wireless port within a street light. The others jack-in using the same street light, except for Count Zap who needs to keep ElecMan separate from Blackberry. The Navis follow Bass from there, entering NetCity, where the Navis there are not yet fully transformed into cats. BurnerMan, PlantMan, and NovaMan meet up with them, saying they've begun their search the Neko Virus. Soon, their attention is directed towards WackoMan and Blackberry. NovaMan freaks out, earning him a slap from BurnerMan.

"Okay, here's what we do: since splitting up right now is dangerous, we'll all have to look together for the virus. Then, we'll surround it so it can't escape, and delete it immediatley. Use your strongest attacks to ensure deletion." PlantMan debriefs.

"I can work with that. Let's find this thing as soon as possible, _meow_!" MegaMan says.

"Ugh, the sooner the better. I think I'm starting to gain cat-like senses." Glyde says.

"Nyah nyah!" Blackberry meows.

"...I so hope that isn't permanent." GutsMan says.

Just then, a shadow passes overhead. The group looks up to discover that Serious Nimbus has appeared, and has an angry look on his face. However, he is not attacking the group; he is looking for the Neko Virus. He does spot the group though, and starts to swoop down towards them. He lands only a few feet away and proceeds with caution. The group does not react right away preparing weapons, as Serious Nimbus raises his wings in a surrendering manner.

"What are you doing here, Serious Nimbus?" TorchMan asks.

"I am not here to fight you guys. It'd be pointless right in your current condition. Are you guys looking for the Neko Virus?" Serious Nimbus answers.

"Yes. We were told to find it, trap it, and delete it. Then we can all return to normal." MagicMan replies.

"So am I. That thing appeared in my bed last night, and I tried to make it my midnight snack, but it got away." Serious Nimbus explains.

"You...were going to eat it?" Roll asks.

"Yes. You see, I don't visit NetCity's resturants and the like; I hunt viruses. I'm an Eagle, a pure bird of prey. Anyway, my Master has no idea I'm even here, so I'm limited to my stay before he notices I'm missing. Would you mind if we call a truce for now and look for the virus together? I can be your eye in the sky." Serious Nimbus responds.

"Well, we do need all the help we can get. Fine, we can call a truce, for now." Bass says.

"Excellent. I'll follow you guys wherever you go. Give me a signal if you want me to land." Serious Nimbus says, before heading above the group.

With a true eye in the sky, the group quickly starts to search the city. While doing so, they end up being warned by Serious Nimbus that WackoMan and Blackberry have been distracted by a moving object (ball, string, etc). PlantMan would be the one to retrieve them using his vines. Eventually, WackoMan and Blackberry found a closer distraction: ProtoMan's long hair. They would claw at it trying to grab it, but end up yanking ProtoMan to the ground on numerous occasions. The others would have to fight off the urge to play with ProtoMan's hair, being mostly successful.

It eventually becomes the afternoon, having no success of finding the Neko Virus. GutsMan has become a complete cat, soon having to be jacked-out for rough-housing with WackoMan. NovaMan gained the body of a cat and freaking out even more about becoming one. ProtoMan has learned to ignore WackoMan and Blackberry playing with his hair by now. Serious Nimbus circles around the group, making sure that if the virus shows up, he can easily alert them. Though, becoming tired from flying, he eventually lands to rest. Just then, Blackberry and WackoMan catch an odd scent. Blackberry tugs on Bass's cloak, meowing and pointing in the direction of the smell.

"Hey, I think Blackberry smells something." Bass says.

"So do I. I think it might be the virus!" Glyde says.

"Lead the way, WackoMan and Blackberry!" Roll says.

With that, WackoMan and Blackberry take the lead with the others following, Serious Nimbus choosing to run instead of fly. They follow the two through tight alleys and through numerous parks scattered throughout NetCity. Eventually, they stop, finding the Neko Virus drinking from a water fountain in the center of a park. Serious Nimbus tries to carefully and quietly sneak up to the unsuspecting virus, but Blackberry ruins his plan by tackling the virus into the fountain. Soon, both cats are struggling to swim. Bass dashes over and grabs one while Serious Nimbus fishes out the other. Bass was actually holding the virus while Serious Nimbus had Blackberry by her scruff. The virus struggles to get free, making Bass hold onto it tighter. The virus then is able to turn and start viciously scratching Bass's face. Blackberry becomes angered by this. Serious Nimbus puts her down and she jumps at the virus, clawing onto it and biting at it. Bass drops both of them, needing to tend to his scratch wounds, and the two cats starts to fight. WackoMan isn't sure if he should join in on the fight, but instead fears the both of them and hides behind MagicMan.

"C'mon Blackberry, show that virus who's boss!" Roll cheers.

"Roll! I understand we need to delete it, but don't do that, _meow_!" MegaMan says.

Blackberry and the Neko Virus continue to battle each other until the virus sucker scratches Blackberry across the face. Before Blackberry could retaliate, Serious Nimbus grabs the virus by the tail, and lifts it up. He soon starts to decide on whether he should eat it here, or let the others delete it. He looks at Bass, who has multiple scratches on his face, then at the group. He sighs and holds the virus in a way that it becomes a still target. He wants them to delete it, thinking he can find another virus to devour. With that, MegaMan charges up his MegaBuster and blasts the virus, deleting it in one shot.

"Nyah!" Blackberry cheers.

"Finally. Now we should all be safe." Glyde says.

"For now. I will return for Blackberry. For now, I will let you all go." Serious Nimbus says before taking off.

"Wow, that truce ended well..." TorchMan sarcastically says.

The Navis, return to their PETs, save for Bass, BurnerMan, PlantMan, and NovaMan. Yahoot then invites everyone to #1 Curry where he'd let the kids eat for free for the help. Everyone agrees, and follow the ex-WWW members back to the shop. It didn't take very long to get there, but none of the Navis have returned to normal yet. As more time passes, the Navis start to return to normal, with Blackberry, WackoMan, ElecMan, and GustMan becoming their old selves again, much to everyone's relief.

"Okay, that was really scary! It isn't gonna happen again, is it?" Blackberry asks.

"It shouldn't. This one was deleted, and the viruses are supposed to stay in an area far from NetCity. We're just glad you're normal again." Lan replies.

Just then, Bass appears in Chaud's PET again, but gets an odd reaction from ProtoMan: the red Navi suddenly hisses at Bass, just like a cat would hiss at another cat for invading its territory. Everyone looks at ProtoMan confused, who covers his mouth, denying he hissed. Bass lifts up ProtoMan's hair and finds a tail.

"Well," Bass starts, "I _was_ going to say that all the Navis have returned to normal, but I can see ProtoMan still has some issues."

"{Can anyone say, 'blackmail'?} Guess you should take him to SciLab to see what's up." Lan says.

Chaud looks at his Navi's stats and says, "It shows that the effect is still going away. If the tail doesn't go away within an hour, I'll take him to SciLab."

"No! You CANNOT take me there under any circumstance!" ProtoMan says.

"Oh, why not?" Bass asks, holding back an awful name to call ProtoMan.

"If I still have a tail, and the other three Navis there see it, they will NEVER shut up about it!" ProtoMan replies.

"Why should it bother you? I'd be laughing about it, if it were me." Blackberry says.

"I think he has some kind of inferiority complex." Bass says.

"I don't have such a thing." ProtoMan argues.

"I get it; he doesn't wanna be called a pussy for the rest of his life!" ElecMan says.

MegaMan tries to hold back his laughter, but finds he can't when Bass says, "In this case, we can call him ProtoPussy."

While everyone laughs, Blackberry is left confused, only knowing that the word "pussy" is another term for "cat". She is clueless of its other meaning, and the others refuse to let her in on the joke.


	11. Navi Not Found

Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "[abc]"  
Language Translation: "abc [def]"

**NOTE FROM RYDRAKE:** I will warn you now, I am unaware of the events after the _Axess_ season, as _Stream, Beast, and Beast+_ never received an English adaption. I am also unable to find any episodes with English subs, so no flames or anything similar.

Chapter 11:  
Navi Not Found

The following night, ProtoMan had fully recovered from the Neko virus, being spared from humiliation. Everyone is at home, glad their Navis had recovered. Lan is checking in Blackberry's stats, finding they're back to normal, her HP slightly increased, and her power level full. Blackberry finds herself unable to decide on whether to stay with ElecMan or Bass. As Lan and MegaMan try to help her decide, Lan suddenly gets a call. MegaMan finds it's from Mr. Famous, and puts it through.

"Lan, there you are. I've been trying to get in touch with you all day." Mr. Famous says.

"Sorry, Mr. Famous, me and my friends were dealing with a rare Neko Virus, and it jammed a lot of functions on my PET. Is something up?" Lan explains.

"It's just Famous! Get it right for once." Mr. Famous says.

"In the case of his rudeness, Lan, can I call him 'Infamous'?" Blackberry asks, unimpressed by Mr. Famous.

As Lan and MegaMan laugh at the joke, Mr. Famous says, "...I take it the smartmouth is Bass's Twin Sister, Blackberry."

Lan calms down and replies, "Yeah, that's her. I take it you've heard about her from SciLab?"

"Yes. With all this aside, I have discovered something." Mr. Famous says.

"What's that?" Lan asks.

"I've discovered that Mr. Wily is in ties with a SoloNavi known as Adamant Enigma. Apparently this Navi is known as the Shadowed Devil." Mr. Famous replies.

"Shadowed Devil?" MegaMan asks.

"Exactly. He is known for never revealing what he actually looks like. He can also revive any fallen NetNavi at pure will. He can also create NetNavis based on his image." Mr. Famous goes on.

"He must be those other Animal Navis' boss then! Which means...he's the one that's after me!" Blackberry says.

"Wait, how did you find all this out?" Lan asks.

"I contacted Raika. Although SearchMan was affected by the Neko Virus, he had a strong enough will to not transform. With that in mind, I asked them if they could look for any suspicious Navis that I heard about from SciLab. They found that Eagle Navi, and planted a device on his back from a far range just after he appeared in NetCity. It was a tracking device, as well as having a GPS function to it. When that Navi logged out, the device activated and sent me all the information." Mr. Famous explains.

"Wow, nicely done..." Lan says.

"Lan, Adamant Enigma is very strong out of what the device could read before something happened to it. I encourage you to keep your distance if he ever appears. I'm going to contact Chaud now. Be on your toes, kid." Mr. Famous says before hanging up.

"So, Mr. Wily teamed up with a SoloNavi, huh? Just when I thought Dr. Regal was bad." Lan says.

"One thing's for sure: he can't CrossFuse." MegaMan says.

"Adamant Enigma must be the one responsible for ripping me away from ElecMan, then bringing back BurnerMan, PlantMan, and NovaMan." Blackberry says.

"I wouldn't doubt it. That also means he's responsible for creating Brave Geyser, Timid Tundra, and now Serious Nimbus." MegaMan says.

"We'll have to let the others know tomorrow. Except for Chaud, the others must be asleep." Lan says.

Meanwhile, within Wily's base, Adamant Enigma is working on reviving another fallen Navi. Serious Nimbus watches from a distance, curious at who he is bringing back. Wily is watching as well, paying close attention to how the process is done. Adamant Enigma pulls out bugs from the computer, turning them into a bug frag mass similar to the one Blackberry was found in. The mass grows bigger as Adamant Enigma adds in remnants of back-up data from the Navi he wishes to bring back. Within minutes, everything is in place, and Adamant Enigma adds in only a small fraction of his data, hoping this Navi will follow him, and not run off like BurnerMan, PlantMan, and NovaMan did. The bug frag mass starts to move around, quickly making violent movements. All of a sudden, the bug frag mass becomes a thick shell, taking the shape of an egg, then cracks. The Navi inside bursts through the shell, with the shell's data being deleted upon impact. After the deletion mess clears, the Navi that Adamant Enigma has revived is none other than...the notorious ShadeMan, the previous leader of the Darkloids before LaserMan forcfully releaved ShadeMan of his position. Serious Nimbus approaches, but still intends to keep distance, sensing ShadeMan's power level.

ShadeMan looks around slightly confused before saying, "Okay...I'm officially in hell."

"Why's that, ShadeMan?" Adamant Enigma asks.

"Because that old man is here." ShadeMan replies.

"Oh, very funny, Dracula." Wily retorts.

"Now, just who are you, and why did you bring me back?" ShadeMan asks.

"My name is Adamant Enigma. I have revived you so that I may build my still growing Navi Army, with you as my First-In-Command." Adamant Enigma replies.

"Bah! I listen to no one! I am my own SoloNavi!" ShadeMan says, showing off his wings to make himself more intimidating.

"A part of me is inside of you." Adamant Enigma says.

"Oh, do you mean this tasteless piece of data? Go screw a wine bottle, Adamant Enigma!" ShadeMan growls, as he tosses the data fragment to the ground.

ShadeMan then makes himself a portal and flies away. Adamant Enigma watches with anger as the portal closes, knowing that even the powerful ShadeMan refused to join him. Serious Nimbus starts to back off as an aura starts to build around Adamant Enigma. Soon, that aura separates from his body, taking place right in front of him. The aura starts to take form, and soon, a new Navi is created from his image, this time, the Navi being a bipedal Bull.

"Tell us your name, new Animal-Navi." Adamant Enigma commands.

The bull looks at Adamant Enigma, his eyes bright orange, and answers, his voice like that of _Osmund Saddler _from _Resident Evil 4_, "My name...is Lax Nature."

The next morning, Lan gets a call from Mr. Famous, saying that ShadeMan was recently spotted near the CyberBeach (the one BubbleMan brought AquaMan and IceMan to). Lan had no choice but to get out of bed and jack-in MegaMan and Blackberry. However, as MegaMan lead the way through NetCity, they were unaware they were being watched. Eventually, before reaching the beach, they had been interrupted by Bass. Blackberry greets her older brother with a hug; Bass clearly is not used to this kind of physical contact as he doesn't hug her back. Once Blackberry had let go, they continue their way to the beach, and find a very odd and big sand castle that is poorly built. They cautiously approach the sand castle, Blackberry staying close behind. MegaMan and Bass prepare their busters while Blackberry slowly puts up her Holy Aura. They make their way to a large opening, which is meant to be the entrance, and look inside. ShadeMan is sleeping on his back on the sand. Although he isn't threatening now, the three Navis enter with caution, and ShadeMan wakes up seddunely when Blackberry accidentally steps in a shell. ShadeMan stands up and looks at the three Navis.

"You should feel lucky that all of my powers have yet to return." ShadeMan says.

"We just have one question: why are you here?" Bass asks.

"Feh, that bastard of a Navi called Adamant Enigma brought me back. Fortunetly for me, and probably you, he didn't have full control of me. So I flew off and came here, since it's well isolated for some reason." ShadeMan answers.

"And you haven't caused any trouble?" MegaMan asks.

"Why bother? As far as I'm concerned, my Darkloid days are over. It would've been nice to have been revived while LaserMan was around so I could delete him." ShadeMan replies.

"Well, you'll be happy to know that Adamant Enigma revived BurnerMan, PlantMan, and NovaMan." MegaMan says.

"Are you telling me he chose _smart_ Navis? I should thank him for not bringing back BubbleMan." ShadeMan says.

"I'm with you on that." MegaMan says.

"Wait, hold up! Am I the only one here thinking that we should be jamming a steak through his heart? How do we know he isn't still evil?" Bass says.

ShadeMan looks at Bass and asks, "And just who the hell are you, anyway? I don't recall seeing you around the net. And fyi, if I was still evil, you'd be deleted by now."

"He's got a point. Anyway, he's Bass, and I'm his younger twin, Blackberry!" Blackberry happily introduces.

"Can I slap her?" Bass asks, not liking Blackberry's current action.

"Easy Bass. Anyway, since you're no longer on the dark side of things, why don't you join us? I'm sure SciLab wouldn't mind having a powerful Navi help out BurnerMan, PlantMan, and NovaMan." MegaMan offers.

"...To be honest, listening to others isn't my style. But, you are right saying I'm not evil anymore." ShadeMan says as he ponders.

"Oh c'mon, we could use someone like you once your powers return!" Blackberry pushes.

Before ShadeMan could respond, a cyber building falls to the ground, creating a lot of dust and smoke as it crumbled to the ground. All four Navis go to look, and find a Navi completely covered in a black cloak; the only thing that could be seen are its eyes. This Navi is much taller than ShadeMan, which only intimidated Blackberry. MegaMan points his buster at the Navi demanding who it is. The Navi suddenly vanishes, then reappears in front of the group, staring down at them all. Blackberry hides behind her brother out of fear. ShadeMan grows an intense angry look, seeming to know who the Navi is. MegaMan demands to know the Navi's identity once again.

"I am the terror that haunts you in your sleep. I am the unyeilding puzzle that makes you feel like a mouse in a maze." the Navi speaks.

"This guy is Agamant Enigma!" ShadeMan shouts, using his wings as shields.

"If this guy's so f*cking powerful, then why doesn't he reveal his face? Then again, he may want to hide it after I get through with him!" Bass says.

Bass uses his DarkArm Blade to get in the first shot, but Adamant Enigma grabs hold of his arm, just seconds before impact. Bass is quickly overwhelmed with shock. He has his other arm become a buster, but Adamant Enigma tosses Bass overhead as if he were a twig. Bass goes flying through the air, till he hits a building, goes through it, and continues to crash through five other buildings before he crashes one final time. ShadeMan gets in front of Blackberry in an attempt to shield her from harm; he could tell she wasn't much of a fighting type just by looking at how scared she is. Lan starts to give MegaMan the Sword Program Advance, but the download is interrupted before the LongSword is downloaded when Adamant Enigma grabs hold of MegaMan's neck, and lifts him up, squeezing his neck tighter than an anaconda. ShadeMan takes away one wing in order to try and punch Adamant Enigma, but instead is frozen in place as Adamant Enigma lifts him in the air using a psychic ability. Then, using this ability, tosses ShadeMan into the CyberOcean. Blackberry isn't sure what to do, but she knows that if Adamant Enigma keeps choking MegaMan like he is, then MegaMan will be deleted. She takes a risk and uses Lolita Boomer, tossing a bomb right at Adamant Enigma. But, the cloaked Navi catches the boomer, and slams it into MegaMan's side, causing massive damage. He then tosses MegaMan aside as if he were a piece of trash. Adamant Enigma then stares down at Blackberry.

"W-wh-WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH ME?" she freaks, tears starting to fall from her eyes.

Adamant Enigma grabs hold of Blackberry's head and replies, "Your secret program! It can bring destruction to all of NetCity!"

Blackberry struggles to get free as she asks, "What secret program? I only have the Sibling Program!"

"Wrong! You have a hidden program that can destroy all of the Net...and possibly revive it all if it got destroyed by other means. However, I want to use that program to destroy ALL OF HUMANITY!"

"What? No! You can't do that!"

"Oh, but I can. Would you like to know the name of your secret Program?"

"I'd rather not have it in me!"

"It's called the Ultimate Truth. If your program is used correctly alongside your Sibling Program, so many wonderful things can happen...like the destruction of the human race. I'm the only one who knows how to access it just right, Blackberry."

"Screw you! You'll never use it the way you want to!"

"You have no need for it. Which is why I'm going to take it!"

Adamant Enigma uses his free hand like a knife, and cuts through Blackberry's abdomen. Although Navis can't bleed, data was slowly pouring out of the wound while Adamant Enigma has his hand in her. Something starts to glow, and he slowly removes his hand, now holding the Ultimate Truth; an orb no bigger than a baseball, blush pink in color while having small green-colored orbs orbit around it like an atom. Data falls heavily from Blackberry's wound, and he drops her while he takes special hold of the Ultimate Truth. Blackberry lies motionless on the sand as Lan screams her name, soon calling for MegaMan who is still unconscious. Suddenly, another Navi appears, and it's Lax Nature, the new Bull Navi. He looks around, seeing the carnage that Adamant Enigma has left.

"You can delete them if you prefer. It's time for me to pull the plug." Adamant Enigma says.

"Yes sir." Lax Nature says.

Adamant Enigma teleports away with the Ultimate Truth in his grasp. Lax Nature makes his way to MegaMan, since Blackberry is already on her way to deletion. Lan downloads a Cannon chip, and it appears behind the Bull Navi. Lan then has it fire at Lax Nature, who is hit by it. He turns around to face the cannon, then stomps his foot in the ground, creating a fissure to open. The cannon falls into the fissure. Lax Nature continues his way towards MegaMan, grabs him by his head, and lifts him high into the air. Lax Nature points one of his thick horns at MegaMan, aiming for the emblem. Before he could do anything, he is hit a claw-like hand out of nowhere, badly scratching him. He looks around, and sees ShadeMan coming from the ocean; apparently ShadeMan has some strength to spare. He then uses Bat Split, becoming four bats. Lax Nature cannot tell who is the real one, and ShadeMan charges in, using his signature Noise Crush attack to make the Bull Navi flinch. It works, and Lax Nature drops MegaMan in order to cover his ears. He is then seen to be of the Wood Element, as he surrounds himself with Wood Towers. One copy of ShadeMan grabs MegaMan and flies away, two go to find Bass, and the real one takes hold of Blackberry, and flies away.

Moments later, ShadeMan and his copies bring MegaMan, Bass, and Blackberry to a distant area; hid old Darkloid Base which is now complete ruins. His copies lay down MegaMan and Bass, then disappear. ShadeMan lays down Blackberry who fell unconscious, and is still losing data. Bass then wakes up, sensing how weak his sister had become. He struggles to stand, and receives help from ShadeMan. He helps Bass over to Blackberry, and both look at her with worried looks. Bass then tries to do what Blackberry had done to him; he places his hand over her emblem. Amazingly, a pink aura surrounds them, and the heartbeat sound from before emits. Blackberry's Sibling Program had activated, using the Airi Echo ability. Her wound starts to close, and the data she lost is restored. The pink aura soon disappears, and Blackberry remains unconscious. Bass sits down next to her, and starts to rub her abdomen.

"I may not know either of you well, but, I do know you are brother and sister. Her just being your sister gives me enough reason to help protect her from that asshole." ShadeMan says.

"Fine with me. Guess this means you're on our side." Bass says.

"Guess it does. Only one thing confuses me, though. How can she have a program she wasn't aware of?"

"I'm not sure. All I know is, we have one hell of a problem now. I don't know what's worse anymore."

"...Neither do I. But now it looks like your sister needs all the protection she can get."

"I'm gonna kill that Adamant Enigma!"

"Same here."

MegaMan soon wakes up, still disoriented. When he fully comes to, ShadeMan reveals what happened as he watched the event take place while he swam back to shore. MegaMan is shocked that Blackberry had a secret program that can be used to revive or destroy something. He is able to make contact with Lan. Just then, footsteps can be heard coming towards them. Neither can prepare any attacks; even MegaMan is far too weak to use a battle chip. The footsteps close in, and it's revealed to be SearchMan.

"SearchMan? What are you doing here?" MegaMan asks.

"To be honest, Raika doesn't even know I'm here." SearchMan replies.

"You ran off from your NetOp?" Bass asks.

"Actually, there's another reason. Come outside and see." SearchMan says.

That's when MegaMan loses contact with Lan. The guys follow SearchMan outside, and find Adamant Enigma up in the cyber sky activating a part of the Ultimate Truth. The light that could be seen is red in color, and it is forcfully jacking in every Net Navi from around the world, weak or strong; this includes BurnerMan, PlantMan, and NovaMan. Soon, the red light bursts out from the pink orb, and connects with the cyber sky, severing the communications of NetNavis and their NetOps. PET screens around the world started to get either "ERROR" messages or "DELETED" messages scrolling across. Lan and co. stare at their screens completely helpless to save their Navis.

Lan starts to cry out, "No...No! MegaMan! Come in MegaMan! Blackberry, please respond! One of you respond! No...dammit! MEGAMAN! BLACKBERRY!"

Higsby calls, "NUMBERMAN! NUMBERMAN, ANSWER ME!"

Chaud calls out, "ProtoMan! ProtoMan, respond! ProtoMan!"

In Bightland, Princess Prides cries out, "KnightMan, no! KnightMan!"

NetOps around the world cry out for their NetNavis to respond, but to no avail. Even SciLab cannot regain contact with BurnerMan, PlantMan, and NovaMan. The NetNavis cry out for their NetOps, but cannot re-establish communication. Some freaks while others try to remain calm. Meanwhile, MegaMan and SearchMan are more than shocked to know that they cannot logout.

"...What do we do now?" MegaMan asks.

"We find a way to become stronger. We find other Navis that will agree to help. We protect Blackberry with our lives. Then, we delete Adamant Enigma!" SearchMan says.


	12. Severed Ties

Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "[abc]"  
Language Translation: "abc [def]"

**NOTE FROM RYDRAKE:** I will warn you now, I am unaware of the events after the _Axess_ season, as _Stream, Beast, and Beast+_ never received an English adaption. I am also unable to find any episodes with English subs, so no flames or anything similar.

Chapter 12:  
Severed Ties

"MegaMan! Blackberry! C'mon you guys...respond...please..." Lan says, as sadness quickly takes over.

He knows he is unable to save his best friend. He is also unable to save Blackberry, the new friend to the team. He sits helplessly in his computer chair, staring into the PET screen that reads "ERROR". Suddenly, he sees a light coming from his room's balcony door. He gets up, walks over, and sees a gigantic Dimensional Area covering the sky. He looks on, and suddenly sees a Cloudy Virus appear.

At Wily's Base, Adamant Enigma has spared his communications with Wily, as he secretly has a plan for him.

"Adamant Enigma, when you said you wanted to destroy all of mankind, this is not how I pictured it! Do you realize you'll be tossing the Earth into another ice age with that Dimensional Area surrounding it?" Wily rants.

"I am very well aware. And, I don't show much concern. I said I wanted to destroy all of mankind, not the planet, Wily. You clearly have misunderstood my idea. I will slowly wipe out all of mankind by freezing the Earth, and using strong viruses to snuff out any survivors. Then, I will start to wipe out the weakest Navis alive, keeping only the strong. We will create a world where only we can survive and prosper. Navis are far too intelligent for humans to have and raise like household pets." Adamant Enigma replies, staying very calm.

"Long live Adamant Enigma!" Serious Nimbus and Lax Nature chant.

"You sicken me. Even I would never sink this low. I wanted to rule the world at least." Wily argues.

"Actually Wily, since you have been so kind as to let me stay here, I should repay my debt to you." Adamant Enigma says, as he surprises Wily with robotic arms coming out of the computer. He goes on, "As you can see, I have secretly taken control of all your machines within this place."

Wily falls onto the ground, completely stunned and asks in fear, "Wha...What are you planning to do?"

"I am going to do to you what I failed to accomplish to do upon a human girl. I will make you a **true beast in my image.**" Adamant Enigma replies, taking hold of Wily with the robotic arms.

Wily struggles to get free from the arms, but due to his age, he does not have the strength to get himself free. Just then, a laser-like projection is fired into Wily's head, and it starts to download all his memories, personality, and anything else that Wily has within his mind. The projection was coming from a wireless port next to the computer screen, and had downloaded everything that made Wily him into the system, becoming data that can be manipulated. Adamant Enigma has the robot arms drop Wily's now lifeless body to the floor. Adamant Enigma then surrounds himself in a light yellow aura, and passes it on to the Wily Data. Soon, the data and aura merge, and start to form into an oblong shape. It takes a few minutes for the data and aura to take a perfect shape. Adamant Enigma starts to chuckle, then breaks out into a maniacle laughter that scares even his two subbordinates. As Serious Nimbus starts to really look at the form Wily has taken, fear starts to make him think about his position as an evil navi.

"So Wily, what do you think of your new body?" Adamant Enigma asks.

"...I like it. I feel like I'm a teenager again." Wily replies.

"Good. You still have the ability to be deleted like the rest of us, but like me, you are immune to most attacks. Now, let us see what attacks you posses!" Adamant Enigma says.

Meanwhile, in the Net, MegaMan, ShadeMan, SearchMan, and Bass are now moving towards NetCity, with Bass carrying his sister on his back. They were surprised that Adamant Enigma had left after he severed the communication between Navi and NetOp. All but SearchMan are still weak from the beatings they took, Bass limping on occasion. Soon, they see another NetNavi in the distance. As the Navi closes in, it is revealed to be ProtoMan.

"ProtoMan, how'd you get here?" MegaMan asks.

"Simple. I followed ShadeMan and his copies. What the hell happened to you?" ProtoMan replies, soon seeing the damage.

"...Adamant Enigma, the asshole behind the Animal Navis, he...he took out a secret program from me sister and used it to cut you guys off from your NetOps. I couldn't do a damn thing!" Bass answers, feeling guilty and upset over the event that took place.

"That must've been who was in the sky earlier. Okay look, before we can find a way to heal you all, we need to find the others and form an alliance. It's best right now to stay in numbers should this Adamant Enigma attack again." ProtoMan says.

"I agree, but I don't think Bass is in enough shape to be carrying around his sister. ShadeMan and MegaMan are in even worse shape. If we are to look for others, chances are either you or me would have to look after them." SearchMan says.

"Actually, I'm alright enough to help. But the others would have to stay behind." ShadeMan says.

"How about we just head into town and find a place to get Blackberry some help?" MegaMan suggests.

As they continue to discuss the matter, Blackberry starts to wake up. Her vision is blurry at first, but starts to clear, seeing SearchMan, ProtoMan, and MegaMan go back and forth on ideas about what to do next. She then looks at her brother, who suddenly notices she's come to.

"Berry-chan! You're awake!" Bass says, as he lays down his sister against a large piece of rubble.

"...Nii-san...I don't feel so good." Blackberry says, holding her stomach.

"That's because Adamant Enigma tore out your secret Ultimate Truth program." ShadeMan says, having caught on. "He used it to forcifully jack-in NetNavis from their PETs, and severed the communications between NetNavi and NetOp."

"...Does that mean...I'll never see Lan, or Chaud, or Zappy again?" Blackberry asks, becoming upset.

"You'll see them again, don't worry about that. We're going to form a team of Navis who are brave enough to help us take down Adamant Enigma!" Bass says.

"Hey look, Blackberry's awake!" MegaMan says, having looked over.

Meanwhile, in town, the ex-WWW Navis follow ElecMan through the streets as he worrily searches the town for Blackberry. He has a strong feeling that the orb he saw Adamant Enigma used earlier came from her. The others despertaly try to keep up with him, but also keep a short distance as electricity flies violently from the electric generator on his back. In the middle of town, BuenerMan, PlantMan, and NovaMan have given up trying to regain contact with SciLab. They were shocked to have been jacked out from SciLab's computer system so easily. Near the Cyber Chip Shop where NumberMan currently is, Roll, Glyde, and GutsMan are scared and confused, unsure of what action to take. NumberMan had no choice but to close his shop for the time being as he cannot contact Higsby. In the downtown sector of NetCity, SharkMan, WoodMan, and SkullMan have given up trying to re-establish contact with their NetOps. They are now walking through the streets as calm as possible, trying to see if they can locate MegaMan.

Back at the Ruined Darklloid Base, Bass had given Blackberry his cape in order to keep warm, as the area is oddly cold. ShadeMan had lead everyone out of the area using a shortcut that was still around, bringing them into the outskirts of NetCity. With still a ways to go, they walk over soon stumbling upon a portal. Out of it falls a very beaten Serious Nimbus, much to their surprise. They rush over quickly finding that this is no act. Serious Nimbus is hurt badly, but has found a way to heal himself using his electrical abilities. He looks up and finds the Navis surrounding him with confused expressions.

"Dude, what happened?" MegaMan asks.

"Ngh...I came to warn you about Adamant Enigma...when I tried to get here, Lax Nature caught on and attacked me..." Serious Nimbus replies.

"Does this mean you're rebelling?" SearchMan asks.

Serious Nimbus gets up and answers, "I am now. I honestly don't like what Adamant Enigma is doing. I never thought he would go this far."

"What were you gonna tell us about him anyway?" Blackberry asks.

"Oh that...well, you're not going to like it. Adamant Enigma took control of some machines and downloaded Wily's mind into the computer system, turning it into data. Then, he morphed it into a very creepy creature of a Navi, giving Wily a much stronger body. Also, your NetOps are in grave danger." Serious Nimbus explains.

"What do you mean? What kind of danger?" ProtoMan demands.

Serious Nimbus looks at them and answers, "...A Dimensional Area now surrounds your humans' Earth. And, he sent Wily to attack the humans."

"WHAT?" the Navis explode.

Blackberry gets upset and cries, "Zaaaappyyyyy!"

"Dammit! Lan's in trouble and I can't help him!" MegaMan says, soon punching the ground.

ShadeMan starts to think, then says, "I'll go protect your NetOps."

"What? ShadeMan, you're in no condition to battle!" MegaMan says.

"You guys can't get out of this place. I'm the only SoloNavi that has never been within a computer system or a PET. The only time I've ever logged out of something was from a Dimensional Area. As far as I'm concerned, BurnerMan, PlantMan, and NovaMan are unable to get out of here as well. Let me go help your NetOps...I need to make up for what I did while I was still a Darkloid." ShadeMan explains.

Blackberry grabs onto ShadeMan's arm and argues, "No, Shade-kun! You're not gonna sacrifice yourself anymore! You need to stay here..."

"Sorry Blackberry, but I need to do this." ShadeMan says.

He gets Blackberry to let go of his arm a moment later. She stands back as Bass walks up to her and places his arm around her. As ShadeMan prepares to enter the Earth once more, he discovers an issue upon doing so, and is thrusted into the ground. He lets out a Noise Crush-like scream in anger.

"DAMN THAT BASTARD! He cut off all the ties to Earth, including entering a Dimensional Area!" ShadeMan shouts.

"That means...no...LAN!" MegaMan says.

Meanwhile, Wily is causing terror within DenTech City, destroying any building in his wake, as well as hurting the people that move. He tosses a car into the air, jumps up after it, and slices it in two with his tail. He is covered in a red cloak, similar to what Adamant Enigma has covered himself in. As he looks ahead, he sees a statue of his former self outside of #1 Curry. He can tell that this is where his ex-subbordinates are. He approaches, having more people scatter away from him in fear, but is stopped in his tracks once the ex-WWW members come out with weapons of their own: Yahoot with a steel ladel, Mr. Match with a Flamethrower he had hidden away, Maddy with a paintball gun, and Count Zap with a lead pipe. They are prepared for a long battle, regardless of who are what it is, shown by the determination and willpower shining in their eyes.

"Feh, do you four really think you can stand up against your former boss?" Wily asks.

"It doesn't matter, old man. Since our Navis can't protect us, we're just going to have to stand our ground and be strong till communications can finally be restored!" Maddy says.

"Those pitiful weapons won't harm me." Wily says.

"Oh you'll be harmed! Hope you like your cloak melted to your body!" Mr. Match says, as he fires his flamethrower at Wily.

The flames only ignite the cloak, and Wily is forced to get rid of it due to the intense heat. Maddy, Mr. Match, Yahoot, and Count Zap soon become overwhelmed with fear over Wily's new body: he has taken the appearance of a Hellhound, bipedal in posture, an iron-like tail tail, intense red eyes, and is of the German Shepard breed. His body is mostly brown in color with a black underbelly, a black spot on his back, and a silver spot on his head taking over his ears. Fangs hang from his mouth like a sabertooth tiger, and he is sporting his grey jacket. His hands are claws that look as if they can cut even diamonds. The group isn't sure what to think as Hellhounds are a bringer of death.

"Are your four scared?" Wily asks, a smile growing on his face.

"What on Earth happened to you?" Count Zap asks.

"Adamant Enigma happened. I'm showing him my appreciation by destroying DenTech City!" Wily replies.

"Either way, we're not going to let you get any further! Your reign of terror stops here, Wily!" Yahoot says.

"You guys have quite a deathwish then. Prepare to meet your maker!" Wily says as he lunges at the group.

Just then, a van appears and a Shrimpy2 Virus. It locks Wily within its sights, and attacks using a massive Bubbler Attack, shooting bubbles from its hands. They easily connect with Wily, as hellhounds are associated with fire. This bit of info proves true, as Wily starts to run the other way. Then, from the van door appears Mr. Famous who tells the ex-WWW members to get in. They take the chance and jump in with the Shrimpy2 Virus following and shutting the door. Mr. Famous takes control of the van and quickly drives away before Wily could recover. Once he does, he lets out a roar and a flame in pure anger. Adamant Enigma appears with Lax Nature by his side.

"Adamant Enigma, you said I wouldn't be affected by attacks!" Wily growls.

"Sorry Wily. I cannot make you immune to everything. You are a Hellhound-based NetNavi now. Hellhounds are associated with fire since they come from hell, and when they appear, the scent of sulfur fills the air. Also, do not destroy all of DenTech. There is a human here I must find. You may destroy everything else, but no more buildings, and no killing humans. Leave the killing to me." Adamant Enigma replies.

"I understand. I'll just destroy vehicles, machines, and everything else that humans need to keep order around here." Wily says.

"Good. Lax Nature, go around the globe and create walls so no human may escape their country by any means. Destroy airplanes so they may remain trapped. Meanwhile, I will create more members to carry out other forms of destruction." Adamant Enigma commands.

"Understood, Sir. However, I have one question." Lax Nature says.

"Yes?" Adamant Enigma asks.

"What will come of Serious Nimbus?" Lax Nature asks.

"Yes, that traitorous bird escaped into the net. He could very well be telling MegaMan about the plan." Wily says.

"Not to worry. When I severed the communications between NetNavi and NetOp, I made sure to cut off the SoloNavis' ability to appear within a Dimensional Area such as this. I made sure to think ahead. And with this Ultimate Truth Program, I can create stronger subbordinates, and, overwrite the current data of strong Navis so that I may build my ultimate army!" Adamant Enigma replies.

"I like the way you think, Sir." Lax Nature says.

"Hmm, come to think of it, Wily needs a nature thrown in front of his name. I think 'Bold Wily' will do nicely." Adamant Enigma says.

"I like the sound of that. Now then, I must hunt down my ex-subbordinates!" Bold Wily says.

Meanwhile, Lan and co. have decided to meet up in Yai's treehouse for now. All their parents have decided to flee to SciLab where it's safer. In the treehouse, Chaud presents the group with a KilbyEX Virus he captured earlier. The others are skeptical at first, till they see how well it listens to Chaud.

"As you can see, the viruses that are appearing aren't all after us. Some are actually very confused as to why they're even here at all. I caught this KilbyEX Virus by trapping it in one of my limos." Chaud explains.

"So what, we're controlling them like Pokemon now?" Yai asks, not pleased.

"Not exactly. The way you trap a virus determines how well it will listen to you. I tried to trap a Melody Virus using one of my limos, but it destroyed the limo and got away. The way I see it, these viruses need to be trapped a certain way before you can restrain them physically." Chaud answers.

"When you think about it, there are two music-based viruses right? The Trumpy and Melody Viruses. Wouldn't they be more attracted to music or sounds rather than being trapped in a car?" Lan asks.

"Good question. I'm not entirely sure. Using this KilbyEX Virus, I had to get rid of all the other Melody Viruses before they did any more damage." Chaud replies.

"So does this mean in order to survive, we have to befriend a virus?" Dex asks.

"That's the idea." Chaud says.

Lan looks at his PET and says, "No virus could replace MegaMan and Blackberry. She must be so scared."

"Lan, we have no choice. I'm just as worried about Roll as you are about MegaMan, not to mention Blackberry." Maylu says.

"She's right. C'mon Lan, let's go trap a virus!" Dex says.

"If you say so..." Lan says.

"{This isn't going to be easy. With the world being in the worst danger imaginable, we may not succeed at surviving on what Adamant Enigma has planned. ProtoMan, MegaMan, everyone, we're relying on all of you to find a way to find us.}" Chaud thinks.


	13. A Mysterious Navi Appears!

Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "[abc]"  
Language Translation: "abc [def]"

**NOTE FROM RYDRAKE:** I will warn you now, I am unaware of the events after the _Axess_ season, as _Stream, Beast, and Beast+_ never received an English adaption. I am also unable to find any episodes with English subs, so no flames or anything similar.

Chapter 13:  
A Mysterious Navi Appears!

"ElecMan, slow down! We can't keep up anymore!" WackoMan calls.

ElecMan turns around and says, "I'm not stopping! Blackberry's here somewhere and probably scared shitless!"

"ElecMan, we've searched nearly half the city and haven't found anyone that she knows." TorchMan says.

"It's obvious she isn't here. Otherwise, she would've came to your calls by now." Magi9cMan says.

"If you guys wanna give up, then fine! I'm gonna keep looking!" ElecMan says as he turns around and storms off.

"He's gonna cause a Net-Wide power outage if he keeps this up." TorchMan says.

"Oh, I hope Blackberry's okay. That Navi that appeared in the sky looked really strong." WackoMan says worried.

"I hope our NetOps are okay. Without communication with them, we have no defense." MagicMan says.

"At least I still have my WackoBall and WackoDolls. Come to think of it, we're all pretty lucky to have kept our abilities." WackoMan says.

"Speak for yourself; I haven't been able to activate my Fire Tower since we got here." TorchMan growls.

"WackoMan can't use Fire or Water Tower either; since those moves are also Battle Chips, they're not allowed to be used here. He can still summon his dolls though." MagicMan says.

Meanwhile, near the Chip Shop, Glyde lands on the ground, unable to spot MegaMan or the others from the sky. Even trying to look outside the city is impossible as it's flooded with NetNavis.

"This is bad. Without our NetOps were're toast!" NumberMan freaks.

"WHEN I SEE MEGAMAN, I'M GONNA POUND HIM! GUTS GUTS GUTS!" GutsMan shouts, beating his chest.

"Why on Earth would you wanna pound him during this crisis?" Roll asks.

"Because he isn't here with us!" GutsMan angrily replies.

"There must be a reason why he isn't here. Maybe he and Blackberry were jacked-in before this happened." Glyde guesses.

"Either way, I'm pounding him!" GutsMan shouts.

While in the Outskirts of Net City, Serious Nimbus, ShadeMan, MegaMan, Bass, Blackberry, SearchMan, and ProtoMan walk towards the city. SearchMan said it was only another 7 miles; but this felt like an eternity to the ones that carried injuries, which is all but SearchMan and ProtoMan. Serious Nimbus ruffles his feathers in an attempt to heal himself faster, but it wasn't working the way he wanted it to. Blackberry tries to use Airi Echo on her brother, and vise-versa, but it wasn't working; both their energy levels are far too low. ShadeMan occasionally sends out harmless Noise Crushes to see if he can locate any foes through his radar (he is a bat, afterall), and can't find anything. SearchMan checks his scouter every now and then, timing it with ShadeMan's Noise Crush so he isn't looking at static. MegaMan tries to keep Blackberry from tiring out mentally by playing 20 Questions as she is clearly ready to fall asleep. ProtoMan simply leads the group through the route he took while looking around for any shortcuts.

Back in the city, SharkMan, WoodMan, and SkullMan are calmly walking along, trying to find anyone that MegaMan knows, or him at least. They all have a funny feeling that the orb Adamant Enigma had earlier may be from Blackberry, and SharkMan has the stronger hunch as he fought her on multiple occasions before. As they turn a corner, something starts to appear in the sky. All the Navis in town start to panic, thinking it's Adamant Enigma again. However, the object appearing in the sky is not in a black cloak, and it isn't even as big as Adamant Enigma. This is definetly another NetNavi, but much smaller and slimmer. Pretty soon, it was done teleporting into the city as its data had rematerialized. The NetNavi looks down at the city, seeing the other Navis run in terror. This Navi, covered from head to toe in black material, large white baggy pants with a golden belt containing its emblem, golden straps on its feet, golden busters with two black stripes, and a golden helmet with two green verticle bulbs in the center front, with cream colored hair-like protursions coming out from the center front of the helmet and a short one pointing up from the back. It has two orange raiments floating behind the Navi with a pattern near the ends, and tan skin with black eyes.

The Navi speaks, "People of Net City, do not fear me, for I am not your enemy. I am fully aware of the new foe that has appeared and have decided to rise up and face him. The next time he appears, I shall deal with him."

One Navi calls out, "What do you think you are, God?"

The Navi looks down at the one that called out and replies, "No such Navi exists. If it did, I'd know."

SharkMan calls out, "Then who are you, bigshot?"

The Navi looks at him and replies, "You all shall address me as 'S'."

All the Navi start to ask "S?" amongst each other, confused at this Navi. S then turns his attention towards the outskirts, being able to sense something. It teleports in that direction, disappearing from view in the blink of an eye. SharkMan looks at his commrades, thinking something isn't right. The other two are able to agree without words.

"We should keep an eye on that S Navi. I don't trust anyone after what that other one just did." SharkMan says.

"I feel the same. When it appears again, we should follow." WoodMan says.

"And if it does anything funny, we strike hard!" SkullMan says.

"We have a plan then. It looked like it was heading for the outskirts; let's head there and wait for it to return." SharkMan says.

Meanwhile, in the outskirts, Blackberry was riding on ShadeMan's back after tiring out from walking. The group was only a quarter of a mile away from entering the city, before the mysterious S appears before them. ProtoMan quickly jumps in front of the group, forming his ProtoSword, and SearchMan prepares his gun. S holds up a hand as if saying to put the weapons away. ProtoMan and SearchMan don't respond and stay defensive. S was not interested in fighting, which the others could see in S's eyes.

S then speaks, "I am no threat to you. However, you're becoming a threat to me...ProtoMan and SearchMan."

"The hell?" ProtoMan says.

"How do you know our names? And who the hell are you?" SearchMan demands.

"I've been watching you. All of you to be exact. I've especially been keeping a close eye on Blackberry. And as for who I am, my name is Serenade." S replies.

"You've been spying on my sister?" Bass asks angrily.

"If you've truley been watching me that close, then who was the one that freed me from the Bug Frag Mass?" Blackberry tests.

"It was an old man by the name of Mr. Wily of WWW." Serenade answers.

"...Ooookay, you got one right. Let's shoot two for three. Here's a two parter: What did Wily want to do to her, and why? And, who saved her from the previous question?" MegaMan tests.

Serenade replies, "Wily wanted to delete her due to her weak stats. It was also ElecMan and his NetOp Count Zap that saved her from deletion."

"Three for three: which two NetNavis were originally after her?" ProtoMan tests.

"There were others after her?" Bass asks.

Serenade answers, "Let's see, if memory serves, those Navis were TorchMan and SharkMan. Oh, and when you guys first met each other as a bonus: GutsMan."

"...I want to DELETE this Navi!" Bass shouts, ready to kill.

"Hold on, I'm sure he must have a good reason for this." Serious Nimbus says.

"I do. It was about her secret Ultimate Truth Program." Serenade says.

"You knew about it?" ProtoMan asks.

Serenade looks at him and replies, "Duh." He looks at Blackberry and says, "That other Navi obviously ripped it out of you. Your power level is even worse than before. However, you won't be able to defend yourself well without the Ultimate Truth." Serenade says.

"Wait a f*cking second, how the hell do you know all this?" Bass demands.

"I can't say right now. But she has to learn to gain new abilities and harness the ones she has using her Sibling Program. All her other abilities, excluding Airi Echo, were through her Ultimate Truth." Serenade answers.

"So, she's completely defenseless now?" ShadeMan asks.

"Does that mean I can't use Ninja Smoke?" Blackberry asks.

"Yes and no. Ninja Smoke and Holy Aura are your basic skills. All the others but those two and Airi Echo are gone." Serenade answers.

"That sucks." Serious Nimbus says.

"Now then, please follow me into the city. I know of a place where you can all fully recover." Serenade says as he turns and walks towards Net City.

With no other choice, the group follows Serenade into town. Bass stares at Serenade with great dislike, not happy about the fact that Serenade has watched his sister this entire time. What truly bothers him is how much of Blackberry Serenade knows.

Blacklberry suddenly asks, "Hey, Serenade?"

"Yes?" Serenade asks.

"You're voice is kind of girly, but you look like a guy. Which are you?" Blackberry asks.

"I'm a boy, silly Blackberry." Serenade replies with a gentle smile.

"YOU'RE A GUY? Dude, what the f*ck?" Serious Nimbus flips.

"What's wrong with you?" ShadeMan asks.

"When I was still under Adamant Enigma's rule, I'd sneak out to search for Navis to chase for fun, but never delete. I ran into a Navi once that appeared male, but was way too feminine looking and acting. I kept thinking this guy was gay until a girl would walk by and he'd flirt with her. I asked what he was and he told me he was 'metrosexual'. Ever since then, I stopped chasing both genders. Running into him scared the crap outta me." Serious Nimbus replies.

"So you think I'm 'metrosexual'?" Serenade asks.

"Pretty much." Serious Nimbus replies.

"What's 'metrosexual'?" Blackberry asks.

"Basically it means a guy who's in touch with his feminine side, but isn't gay." MegaMan answers.

"I can assure you, I'm not metro. I just look feminine is all." Serenade says.

"Serenade would have to be male; just look how big and baggy his pants are." SearchMan says.

Meanwhile in DenTech, Lan, Yai, Dex, Maylu, and Chaud and his KilbyEX Virus head into town where the viruses are wreaking havoc like ants at a picnic. The temperature in DenTech had dropped a significant 15 degrees; going from 80 degress F to 65 degrees F. The Global Dimensional Area was affecting the world-wide temperature dramatically. Pretty soon, before the sun will set in DenTech, the world will start to enter a new ice age. The kids were on the look out for viruses they could trap easily, but Lan was more focused on his empty PET, worrying about how MegaMan and Blackberry are going to survive. Before Maylu could try to console him, a Milko Virus (blue-colored Moloko Virus, which looks like a sheep) appears before them, ready to fight. These viruses are fairly easy to read as they only have one attack: Moko Rush, which is nothing more than a careless charge at the opponent. When Yai decides she wants to control it, the virus had already charged at her head-on, and runs her over, leaving foot prints on her. Chaud commands the KilbyEX Virus to capture it, which it gladly does using bamboo-like vines. The Milko Virus is wrapped and tries to struggle to get free.

Maylu decides to go for it and grabs onto the Milko's horns. KilbyEX lets go, and soon Maylu's in a shoving contest with the Milko Virus. Just then, once the Milko saw how determined Maylu was, its eyes glow blue for a second, and it stands still. Maylu lets go of its horns as it looks up at her, focusing all its attention on her. Yai stands up and is shocked to find Maylu had successfully tamed the virus she wanted, saying how it wasn't fair. Although Lan was watching this, he couldn't help but feel a sudden flash of weakness. He looks at his PET, seeing the screen had changed colors from its default green to a deep blue. PETs don't ever change background colors.

Just then, a van approaches the group and stops a few feet away from them. Out of the van steps the ex-WWW members and Mr. Famous with his Shrimpy2 Virus. Mr. Famous soon sees that Chaud and Maylu each have a Virus of their own; a KilbyEX and Milko, respectively.

"Well, I see you kids are doing well, seeing as how you caught two viruses." Mr. Famous says.

"Yeah, we just caught a Milko. What are you guys doing here?" Chaud asks.

"You kids need to come with us, now! It's way too dangerous out here, and I'm not just talking about the viruses." Mr. Match says.

"...Can we even fit in that tiny thing?" Yai questions.

"Oh you'll fit; you're small enough." Maddy says.

"Why do you want us to go with you?" Dex asks.

"We'll explain as soon as we get to your school. It's acting as a shelter for the town." Mr. Famous says.

"That is the last place we'd go to right now." Yai says.

"Got any better places in mind? We can't leave DenTech City at all right now!" Maddy says.

"Oh really?" Yai demands.

"I just saw a plane get shot out of the sky by a cloacked NetNavi; we're stuck here." Maddy replies.

"In that case, let's hurry." Maylu says.

"Lan, c'mon! We gotta go!" Dex calls, snapping Lan out of it.

"Uh, right!" Lan replies.

Back in the Net, MegaMan and his group have finally reached NetCity. Serenade is leading them to a place called Net Repair. There, Net Navis can heal all wounds and recover their power levels simply by given a room to sleep in, and within an hour the Navi is completely restored. The only catch is that once the Navi falls asleep, they can't be woken up until the hour has passed. Blackberry couldn't wait to get there. Just then, another group of Navis appear: it's BurnerMan, PlantMan, and NovaMan. The three were glad to see that Blackberry is okay, but quickly become wary of Serenade. They weren't sure what to make of him since he appeared suddenly in the sky. And speaking of the sky, it becomes dark. Just then, Adamant Enigma appears in front of the group. Blackberry is immediatly filled with fear, jumps off ShadeMan's back, and runs off behind a building. The others arm themselves, Serenade staying as calm as possible. Adamant Enigma looks down at Serenade, his eyes glowing an intense yellow. Serenade looks up at him, not showing any sign of aggitation.

"So, you're the Navi I've been sensing for a while." Adamant Enigma speaks.

"Give it a rest, Shadowed Devil. You've known me far longer than any other NetNavi in existance. I've watched you whenever you made an appearance in the Net; you lie to those around you, except for your suborddinates." Serenade says.

"He lies?" MegaMan asks.

"Yes. It's in his name. He's been around for as long as the Net has, ever since the very first NetNavi was created and functional. He just hasn't fully awakened until now." Serenade replies.

"You're an enigma yourself, Underking. I've been trying to locate you for a while; that part is true." Adamant Enigma says.

"You will never locate my home. I make sure it stays hidden from ungrateful lowlives like you." Serenade says, keeping his cool.

"Tch, you may be talking big right now, but how will your friends look at you when they discover what you've actually done?" Adamant Enigma asks.

"...What does he mean, S?" BurnerMan asks.

"It's nothing I wish to share right now." Serenade says.

"Oh, but you must. Your friends are all confused. And now they want to know exactly what's going on. I'm sure the younger Bass Twin would like to know the truth as well." Adamant Enigma says.

Serenade loses it and shouts, "I will not share with you around!" and fires his Holy Shock Attack.

Adamant Enigma disappears. After the attack ends, the sky becomes clear again, a sign that Adamant Enigma is no longer within the area. Soon, the other Navis surround him as Blackberry rejoins the party. They all look at him confused at what Adamant Enigma said.

Blackberry asks, "I was able to hear all of that. What does Adamant Enigma mean, Serenade?"


	14. Serenade's Confession

Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "[abc]"  
Language Translation: "abc [def]"

**NOTE FROM RYDRAKE:** I will warn you now, I am unaware of the events after the _Axess_ season, as _Stream, Beast, and Beast+_ never received an English adaption. I am also unable to find any episodes with English subs, so no flames or anything similar.

Chapter 14:  
Serenade's Confession

"Tell us Serenade. What's going on here?" Bass demands.

Serenade looks down at Blackberry, who's eyes are screaming for answers. He sighs and says, "Guess I have no choice. But you are not to tell anyone else, unless I give you the okay."

"We won't tell anyone. Just tell us what Adamant Enigma meant." MegaMan says.

Serenade nods, checks to see that no one else is around, and finally says, "Everyone, I am Blackberry's creator."

"WHAT?" everyone but Blackberry explodes.

Blackberry's eyes light up with glee as she asks, "I have a daddy?"

"No you don't! Quit lying, Serenade!" Bass quickly says, taking the offensive.

"I would never lie. I really am her creator." Serenade replies.

"Then what did you create her for? Besides being Bass's twin sister." ShadeMan asks curiously, as he knows nothing of Blackberry.

Serenade explains, "She was created not only to be Bass's sister, but so she could keep his immense power in check. I know that someday he may be overloaded with Dark Energy, and won't be able to control it all. Blackberry has Light-based attacks, like I have, to help balance his energy, like a yin and yang kind of system. And, if Blackberry were to ever be overloaded with Light Energy, Bass could balance her out."

"Makes sense to me. That's what Yuichiro theorized too, and it proved true when Bass fought ElecMan." BurnerMan says.

"I saw that battle. I'm glad that part of the Sibling Program activated when it needed to." Serenade says.

"Then what was my Ultimate Truth Program for?" Blackberry asks.

"It's sole purpose was to revive all forms of life should destruction fall upon them, not just to revive the Net should it ever be deleted. It was not meant for what Adamant Enigma is using it for." Serenade replies.

Serious Nimbus asks, "So, would that mean she'd be sacrificed?"

"No. The only negative outcome would be temporary amnesia as well as low power levels. However, I never fully got to test the beta form of it to its full potential, so I'm not sure how long her amnesia would last." Serenade answers.

"One thing I want to ask is this: how did you create her?" PlantMan asks.

Serenade replies, "There was an abandoned lab I found. Some of its machines were still working. There was also a robot there that I inhabited during the time I was creating Blackberry. And the only reason she was found in a Bug Frag Mass was to keep her from being sensed from other Navis...unfortunetly Gospel, and soon Mr. Wily found her. Another thing, in case she was ever disturbed sooner than expected, I made her weak as a failsafe; I wanted to keep her powers in check."

"So me being weak right now is a failsafe? You really thought a lot about me then." Blackberry says.

"I did. Oh, I almost forgot, I also created another failsafe for you in case your Ultimate Truth Program was forced out of your body." Serenade says.

"And what's that?" Bass demands.

Serenade smiles and says, "She can create a new program by having a child."

Bass gives Serenade the most intense distraught look. He knows very well that ElecMan is in love with his sister, and did not even once think about something like this. Blackberry starts to get fantasies in her head, mostly aboput ElecMan taking her on romantic dates, how and where he'd propose marriage, and even what their baby might look like.

Serenade gives off a feeble smile as he says, "And I have no issues if ElecMan has a child with Blackberry."

"Yay!" Blackberry cheers.

"IT AIN'T HAPPENING ANYTIME SOON, BERRY-CHAN!" Bass shouts.

Blackberry looks at Bass innocently and says, "B-but Otousan [dad; father] says it's okay."

Bass facepalms unable to handle the situation. MegaMan then gets curious and asks, "Hey Serenade? I know NetNavis can breed and have kids like humans but, just how does a NetNavi give birth?"

"Hmm, to tell you the truth, it's complicated. The way a NetNavi even _becomes_ pregnant is different; she does not have to follow the whole 9 month pregnancy. I have looked into this myself, and found that a Navi can breed one night, and the next morning can have a full term belly. It has something to do with how close and how strong the bond is between both NetNavis. Also, the NetNavi, once having a full term belly, can give birth that moment." Serenade replies. He scratches his head and continues, "The birthing, however, is very different from how humans do it. Instead of the two known methods, that belly is nothing more than added on data, like a program of sorts. That belly will glow, disconnect from the mother, and form into a Baby Navi."

"Is it painful?" Blackberry asks.

"Not sure." Serenade answers.

"No, she is NOT having a child with ElecMan. I don't care what anyone says!" Bass growls.

"But Bass..." Serenade says, approaching Blackberry, soon wrapping his arms around her and pressing his cheek to hers, "...don't you want your little sister to be happy?"

MegaMan breaks the 4th Wall and says, "And so the shit hits the fan."

In DenTech, Mr. Famous was able to get everyone to the school that Lan and co. go to. He leads them to a computer room with no one else inside it. He asks evryone to take a seat as he calls up the KilbyEX and Milko Viruses alongside his Shrimpy2 Virus. Mr. Famous then asks for everyone's PETs, to which Lan is reluctant to hand over.

"Okay, now that everyone's here and not distracted by anything, I'd like to discuss our current situation. Now then, our new foe, Adamant Enigma, which is the cloaked NetNavi that shot down an airplane, has put up a Dimensional Area large enough to surround the entire Earth, not just Japan. By what I have gathered from the Ex-WWW members, the Navi my virus distracted was in fact Mr. Wily, but reborn as a NetNavi in the form of a Hellhound. Also, we are able to tame these viruses in various ways. We must rely on these viruses in order to survive as they can still teleport safetly to other areas." Mr. Famous debriefs.

"What do we do about Wily, though?" Yahoot asks.

"Well, it appears that the Water Element is his weakness as Hellhounds are associated with fire. So fighting him shouldn't be hard if we can befriend Water Viruses." Mr. Famous answers.

"Can we befriend more than one?" Chaud asks.

"The answer is yes. I have another virus currently running through the Net Space, as I'd like to call it, looking for supplies and a more hidden location to work with." Mr. Famous responds.

"Cool, then we of #1 Curry will befriend Water Viruses to combat Wily, and whatever else we can get our hands on!" Maddy says.

"Actually, it'd be better if you can befriend several viruses of varying types. If Adamant Enigma appears again, we need to figure out if he has a weakness. If he doesn't, then we need to befriend very powerful viruses." Mr. Famous says.

"What about our NetNavis?" Lan asks.

Mr. Famous looks at him and says, "There isn't much we can do. As you're all aware, communications have been cut off. All the world's Navis are on their own until MegaMan and the others can figure something out, or until we discover something."

"MegaMan's a smart NetNavi, Lan. I'm sure he's already finding his friends, forming a nice large team, and keeping Blackberry safe. Hell, I'm sure Bass has probably found them by now and is working hard to help protect everyone." Maylu says.

"You think so, Maylu?" Lan asks.

"I know so, Lan. MegtaMan isn't one to disappoint." Maylu answers.

"We should go out and try to befriend more viruses before it gets dark." Count Zap says.

"It's not a good idea. With Adamant Enigma and Wily causing all kinds of damage, going out even in a group this big will only attract them. Last thing I want is for anyone to die early." Mr. Famous says.

"So how are we supposed to befriend any viruses?" Yai asks.

"I'm working on a PET program that can sense where Adamant Enigma and Wily are. Once I finish it, I'll install it into all our PETs, and using that, we can determine which area is safest to look for viruses." Mr. Famous replies.

"So then, what should we do until the program's done?" Dex asks.

"Whatever you want within this building, basically. The PA system here still works, so when the program's finished and installed, I'll contact you all with that. For now, you're free to do whatever." Mr. Famous says.

Count Zap gets up and says, "In that case, you'll find me in the music room."

"I will be in the gym practicing yoga." Yahoot says, standing up.

"Meh, I'll stay here and see if we still have some kind of internet." Maddy says.

"Same here." Chaud says.

Count Zap and Yahoot leave the room. The kids decide to stay in the computer room, until Yai announces she'd head to the art room, and promptly leaves. Dex decides to follow her there so she isn't alone. Mr. Match soon decides to head to the cafeteria to get food. Maddy and Chaud start to get the computers warmed up, finding they're still working just fine. Lan and Maylu soon turn on the computers behind them. Mr. Famous gets to work on finishing the program.

Back in NetCity, Serenade had gotten everyone to the Net Repair building, where all but ProtoMan and SearchMan were given separate rooms to sleep in. With the others sleeping, SearchMan activates his scanner, and starts to look for MegaMan's other friends. He is able to easily locate GutsMan, Roll, Glyde, and NumberMan with ProtoMan's help describing them. SearchMan tells him where they are, only being just across the way up on the invisible path, and ProtoMan quickly heads over to them. With that, and finally feeling safe, SearchMan takes a seat in a leather chair against a pillar. The Net Repair building looks a lot like a luxurious hotel, the walls being a gentle blue color, white floor tiles with gold sun and silver moon patterns with light purple stars, and the rooms having beds with Tempurpedic-like mattresses, extremly soft sheets and pillows, and walls painted like the night sky with a tropical island pattern on the floor. The building also plays music from radio stations around the world in the lobby, and more gentle music or soothing sounds in the rooms. SearchMan was started to lose himself on the chair as he hardly gets to relax. As Serenade is about to join SearchMan, SharkMan and his comrades enter the building, calling out to Serenade.

"So, you're the one who created Blackberry." SkullMan says.

Serenade gains a shocked look and asks, "How do you know that?"

"We followed you to the outskirts and hid within hearing range. We heard everything you said back there." SharkMan says.

"And what do you plan to do, SharkMan? You can't exactly arrest me, you know. Not to mention, I'm on your side." Serenade says.

"We're not here for a fight. We want to know why you gave her such a program that could cause a crisis this huge and out of control." WoodMan says.

"You want to know why I gave her the Ultimate Truth Program? You heard me back there, no? It is meant to show humanity mercy - something a criminal like Adamant Enigma could never show." Serenade replies.

"You also seem to know a lot about Adamant Enigma. Why didn't you stop him sooner?" SharkMan asks.

Serenade sighs and says, "I was trying to show him mercy for being so weak. I didn't think the creation of Blackberry would awaken him. I was foolish to think that."

SkullMan says, "No kidding. Hey, do you know Bass as well?"

"Hm? Yes. His increasing powers motivated me to create Blackberry, so that I can protect my home from any harm. I also didn't want to end up in another battle with Bass; the last one we had lasted for days." Serenade replies.

"I see. So, what do you intend to do about this?" SkullMan asks.

"I cannot fight Adamant Enigma alone. I know for a fact he will create other incarnations of himself until he cannot create anymore. However, his defeat will depend heavily on Blackberry and ElecMan's bond." Serenade answers.

"Man, you are some kind of f*cked in the head." SharkMan says.

"Oh? So are you three." Serenade fires back.

"Okay, that's enough. Can't we all just try to relax for a while?" SearchMan calls over.

Serenade looks at SearchMan and says, "You're just really comfortable there, aren't you?"

"Oh, like you wouldn't believe! It's too bad I'm not damaged; I'd like to see what those rooms are like." SearchMan happily replies, reclining back in the chair.

A message is soon heard on the radio system announcing that a Dimensional Area surrounds the entire Earth, actually blocking the sun's rays that give the Earth its heat. Temperatures around the world have dropped dramtically by 20 degrees in the past few hours, and they continue to drop as the sun starts to set. Most people are starting to befriend viruses in order to survive, and that a cloacked NetNavi, a Hellhound NetNavi, and a Bull NetNavi are randomly attacking cities and towns around the globe, able to teleport anywhere at pure will. There have been multpile sightings of these NetNavis around the world, which are leading experts to believe that the sightings are of clones created by the Navis. As these attacks carry on, experts are working tirelessly to re-establish communications with the NetNavis that were forcfully jacked-in to the Net. The announcement ends changing into the song "Walking on Broken Glass" by Annie Lennox.

"Oh, I love this song!" Serenade says as he starts to sway to the upbeat music, and soon singing, "_Walking on, walking on broken glass..._"

"...Are you serious?" SharkMan asks dumbfounded.

"This is disturbing. I'm out." SkullMan says, leaving Net Repair.

"I agree." WoodMan says quickly leaving.

"...Uh, wait for me guys!" SharkMan calls, rushing out the doors.

SearchMan doesn't react as he returns to resting in the chair. Serenade contiunues to dance to the music and sing along, just as ProtoMan returns with Roll, GutsMan, Glyde, and NumberMan. ProtoMan and GutsMan quickly find it to be weird and wander off to another part of the lobby. Roll, Glyde, and NumberMan watch, finding Serenade to be an elegant dancer. The raiments soon start to slowly spin around Serenade as the song starts to approach the end, making him look more elegant. When the song finally ends, the raiments return to their normal position, and Serenade hears clapping, looking over at Roll, Glyde, and NumberMan. They compliment on his moves to the music. Serenade bows thanking them.

"You really know how to move to the music, S." Glyde says.

"ProtoMan told us that you lead Mega and the others here. Are they still sleeping?" Roll asks.

"Yes. I think they still have another 40 minutes left to go." Serenade says.

Suddenly, Navis outside start to run and scream in terror. Serenade and the others rush out to look, finding another one of Adamant Enigma's incarnations causing trouble. This one is a large, bipedal grizzly bear with a muscular build. His fur is dark brown, and armor resembling a midieval knight's, bronze in color. His eyes are an orange color with a red jagged scar over his left eye. He soon locks eyes with Serenade and the others.

As he speaks, his voice sounds like _Final Fantasy's Sephiroth's english voice_, "So, you are the ones that think my Master is a lowlife, huh? You all shall feel the relentless wrath of I, Hardy Quake!"

"...Dude, what the hell?" BurnerMan asks confused.

"All of his incarnations are named after their element. His is ground!" Serenade says.

"Shit! Do any of us have an advantage?" NovaMan asks.

"It doesn't matter. Water, Grass, Ice...either will do. We need to take him out!" Serenade says.

"In that case, I'll start!" PlantMan says, jumping into battle.

Hardy Quake grabs onto the ground, and cracks it like a makeshift whip, as if trying to whip a hose. PlantMan jumps into the air, avoiding the attack, and whips the Grizzly Navi with his own vines. Hardy Quake grabs onto PlantMan's vines, and throws him onto the ground. PlantMan hits the ground hard, but manages to get up without issues. He summons his Red and Yellow Flowers, attempting to make their pollen paralyze and confuse the Grizzly Navi, respectively. Hardy Quake is unable to dodge the thick pollen, becoming both paralyzed and confused. PlantMan uses his Plant Weed attack, the vines easily connecting with Hardy Quake, sucking out his HP. PlantMan then quickly uses Rose Nedles, firing multiple thorns at the Grizzly Navi. He is hit with each thorn, and given the circumstances, retreats, logging out from NetCity.

"Alright! Way to go, PlantMan!" NovaMan cheers.

"Dude, that's Blackberry's thing." BurnerMan says.

"I decided to fill in while she's recovering." NovaMan says, earning a slap across the face from BurnerMan.

"This is bad. Adamant Enigma has already made another incarnation." Serenade says, getting serious.

"Hey Serenade, do you know what Adamant Enigma looks like?" ProtoMan asks.

"...I've never seen his true face myself. All I know is, he is a creature that most people fear becoming when there is a crisis of great famine. Knowing that, I would not want to know what he truly looks like." Serenade replies.


	15. Living a Movie

Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "[abc]"  
Language Translation: "abc [def]"

**NOTE FROM RYDRAKE:** I will warn you now, I am unaware of the events after the _Axess_ season, as _Stream, Beast, and Beast+_ never received an English adaption. I am also unable to find any episodes with English subs, so no flames or anything similar.

Chapter 15:  
Living a Movie

Well after the victory over the newest incarnation of Adamant Enigma, Hardy Quake, a Bear NetNavi, MegaMan, Blackberry, Bass, Serious Nimbus and ShadeMan had emerged from their rooms, fully rested and restored. The others, now including NumberMan, Roll, GutsMan, and Glyde, fill them in about Hardy Quake. Blackberry starts to get an ominous feeling that Adamant Enigma might be preparing to destroy NetNavis that are weak, her being one of them. Glyde reassures her that with the team they plan on creating, it will become impossible for Adamant Enigma to delete her. Then NovaMan mentions SharkMan, WoodMan, and SkullMan and how they approached Serenade, and how he responded.

"They must be really suspicious of you and Blackberry, Serenade. The fact that they did that proves it." MegaMan says.

"Frankly, I'm not very surprised. I just hope they don't spread the word; Blackberry **will** become a target if they do." Serenade says.

"Nah I know those guys. They're not ones to spread words." MegaMan says.

"Anyway, we need a base of our own to stay in. If we're going to create a huge team, we'll need a place to keep everyone." ShadeMan says.

"Why don't we just rebuild the old Darkloid Base? At least it's big and it can store a lot of Navis." BurnerMan suggests.

ShadeMan replies, "To be honest, that is the last place I want to be in after what Dr. Regal and LaserMan did."

PlantMan says, "It is a good point. Oh, what if I made a base out of my flowers? I promise it won't look even remotely girly!"

"Last thing I wat to live in is a flower." ProtoMan protests.

"How about we find a location first? With Hardy Quake logged out, we can actually move around." NumberMan says.

"I agree with him. That should be our first objective." SearchMan says.

"Hey, I know an area that's plain. It's just on the edge of NetCity so we don't have to travel too far, should anything happen." Roll says.

"In that case, lead the way, Roll." Serenade says.

With that in mind, the group exits Net Repair and Roll takes the lead turning right. While MegaMan and ProtoMan are taking their position just behind Roll should anyone attack, SearchMan brings up the rear of the group, deciding to run a scan every now and then for anything suspicious. However, before the group could get far, they hear someone call out to them. They turn around to find ElecMan, WackoMan, TorchMan, and MagicMan trying to catch up. However, they stopped a fair distance away as soon as they saw ShadeMan. Blackberry appears from the middle of the group saying he's okay. The four then close in. WackoMan is first to gret Blackberry by picking her up and hugging her.

"It's great to see you're okay, sweetie! We were worried about you." WackoMan happily says.

TorchMan gives a look saying, "I wasn't."

MagicMan projects, "You tried attacking her when she re-entered NetCity, so why should you?"

Bass glares at TorchMan growling, "You WHAT?"

"Easy Bass, ElecMan and GutsMan defeated him before she could even be hurt." Glyde says.

"I'm still gonna beat his ass senseless." Bass says.

WackoMan puts Blackberry down and then pets her head, "At least this time we have him under control. With my WackoDolls knowing Aqua Tower, he can't do anything."

"My question is, who was that Navi that appeared earlier? Was he Adamant Enigma?" ElecMan demands.

Blackberry looks at the group with a guilty look and asks, "Should we tell him?"

Back in DenTech, in Lan and co.'s school, Mr. Famous had just completed his new PET program he calls the Location Scanner, which not only shows where something is located, but can also assist in pointing out safe locations to look for viruses. He downloads the program into everyones PETs, where the KilbyEX Virus appears in Chaud's PET, and likewise with Maylu's Milko Virus. Mr. Famous's Shrimpy2 Virus appears in his PET where HeatMan used to be stored. With that, he picks up a microphone that he wired to the PA system, and cals back Dex, Yai, Count Zap, Mr. Match, and Yahoot. With everyone in the computer room moments later, Mr. Famous begins his next lecture.

"Okay everyone, here are your PETs." he starts, handing the devices back. "The program is fully operational and downloaded into all our PETs. I call it the Location Scanner. To start, any Virus you succesfully tame will be transported into your PETs automatically, and can be accessed so long as you are using the Location Scanner. If not, you'll be staring at an empty screen."

"This is pretty cool. But can you explain these dots?" Chaud asks.

"I was just geting there." Mr. Famous says. "There are different colored dots, and certain noises that emit to alert you what is near. The blue dots are us. The sound that emits when you approach each other from a great distance is a bell chime. The red dots are Adamant Enigma and his lackeys, and the PET will make a car rev noise when you get too close. Dark Green dots are viruses within the area, and will make a beeping sound; wheras pink dots are tame viruses. When you see a Yellow Arrow appear, that means the program has picked up on a safe area, like this school for example. Once you enter that area, the arrow will turn into a ring just at the edge of the screen, and will turn back into an arrow once you leave. If the arrow disappears, don't be alarmed as it means you're just too far away for the program to pick up on the safe location. This program functions much better with a virus in the PET, since it knows where all the locations are."

"It sounds like something from a video game." Dex says.

Yai asks, "Does the virus do anything?"

Mr. Famous replies, "A good question, Yai. Yes, they perform certain actions depending on what you're near. Right now, they're just on standby waiting to be summoned to protect you. When you are approaching each other, they simply look in those directions. When in the range of our enemies, they will cower and attempt to hide off-screen. When getting near other viruses, they'll look in that direction and growl and/or show a sign of aggression. When it senses other tame viruses, it just sits there and does nothing. But, when that arrow appears, they get excited."

"This is a hell of a program. Does that mean we can leave as a group?" Maddy asks.

"It doesn't matter. With that program, at least you'll know when danger's near and you can hide till it passes. Just remember, this school is our base, and I have that marked in the program." Mr. Famous replies.

"Then let's go out and search for some viruses! We need to build up a strong team before it's too late!" Lan says standing up.

"Sorry Lan, not right now." Mr. Famous says.

"What do you mean?" Lan asks.

"The sun's setting, kid. Last thing you wanna do is go out there in the dark. Not to mention, with the Dimensional Area blocking the sun, you'll get caught out in the cold." Mr. Match says.

"Guess we should've grabbed our winter gear..." Maylu says.

Mr. Famous says, "No need to worry. My other virus will be back soon with all the supplies we need. That includes winter gear."

Lan sits back down as Yai questions, "Speaking of supplies we need, where are we going to sleep, exactly?"

"I saw the gym was being stocked with roll-out beds, so chances are we're using those." Yahoot answers.

"You've gotta be kidding! I can't sleep on those!" Yai whines.

"Oh what's the matter, emergency shelter beds not good enough for you?" Maddy pushes.

"Enough you guys. Most of the class rooms here are being used for some of the families that chose to stay here. I have reserved two rooms for us that are just across from each other. I've reserved one for the adults, and one for you kids." Mr. Famous says.

"In that case I'll stay with the kids. Last thing I want is to be the only woman surounded by you men." Maddy quickly says.

"I thought you liked men." Count Zap jokes.

"Not you men!" Maddy yells.

In NetCity a little while later, WackoMan had fainted, MagicMan and TorchMan were speechless with MagicMan holding WackoMan, and ElecMan was flipping a lid, arguing with Bass about how he failed to protect his own sister. Blackberry had gotten WackoMan to summon a Blue WackoDoll before he fainted, and was having the doll gently spray WackoMan to cool him off. She was wishing she had also gotten him to summon the red one so she could get Bass and ElecMan to stop arguing. Instead, ShadeMan walks up to them approaching from the side, grabs them both by the backs of their outfits, and knocks their heads together, causing both to become disoriented, collapsing to the ground with rotating swirls for eyes. WackoMan finally wakes up and the Blue WackoDoll disappears. WackoMan asks what happened, and TorchMan replies that he fainted.

"Well, WackoMan fainting I'd say is a perfectly normal reaction. However, ElecMan arguing with Bass is not the best reaction." Serenade says.

"Good thing my Airi Echo still works, otherwise I would've been deleted." Blackberry says.

ElecMan recovers, stands up and says, "I still can't believe he's using your program to do all this shit."

Bass recovers, stands back up and says, "Oh, but you haven't heard the good news. Since Adamant Enigma took her Ultimate Truth Program, Serenade created a failsafe should that program ever be ripped out of her."

"Yeah, and what's that?" ElecMan questions.

Bass looks at him, fakes a smile and says, "She can create a new program to combat Adamant Enigma just by having a child."

ElecMan's eyes light up as he excitedly replies, "Wait really?"

"Why yes..." Bass goes on as he grows a more aggressive look, grabs and pulls ElecMan's nose using his index and middle finger and continues, "And you're not doing a damn thing until I've fully approved of you." He then releases ElecMan's nose.

"Nii-san, I thought you already approved of him!" Blackberry argues in a whinny fashion.

"I never did, Berry-chan. I want to see just how he treats you first before I make my judgment." Bass calmly replies.

"Hey, fair enough, right?" BurnerMan asks.

Just then from behind the group, a NetNavi is kicked out of a store, being yelled at by another NetNavi to never return. All too soon, another Navi is kicked out, falling onto the first Navi, being yelled at about getting everything soaked by creating one giant bubble and making it pop. The first Navi pushes off the second Navi and stands up, dusting himself off. ShadeMan had recognized them both.

"VideoMan and BubbleMan?" ShadeMan asks with a confused look.

Both the Navis are startled.

"Wait a second...ShadeMan? Hey hey, you're alive! Yeah, it's me, VideoMan!" VideoMan replies.

"Wait, ShadeMan's back? Oh no! I otta get out of here!" BunbbleMan panicks, teleporting off.

"Hey, come back here ya coward! Who's gonna clean my helmcam?" VideoMan shouts.

"VideoMan." ShadeMan calls taking a step foward.

VideoMan faces ShadeMan and says, "That guy is incredibly lucky for not getting deleted like the rest of us!"

"Let me guess: you were revived by Adamant Enigma, right?" NovaMan asks.

"You mean that crazy cloaked Navi? Oh hell no! After my deletion, the video store that I 'attacked' found my back-up data and called in Lan's dad to see what the odd symbol was. Since it couldn't be moved or deleted, he was able to revive me, but had me trapped in a special PET for a while. You never saw me, but I saw you guy whenever you came to SciLab. I was completely restricted from entering NetCity, but I was able to download movies off the net. Then I saw this spoof called 'Vampires Suck', and my inspiration to create movies returned!" VideoMan explains.

"Wait, go back. Yuichiro had you trappedin a special PET? Does that mean you're still evil?" ProtoMan asks.

"No. After I was recovered, during my debugging, he repaired any damage that was done by the Dark Chips, and I became greatful, but he didn't want me ruining any movies. But, I became committed to writing a script for this new movie I want to create after watching that spoof. And this forced jack-in is givng me the opportunity to put up ads looking for actors, human and/or NetNavi." VideoMan answers.

"Well, in that case...we're trying to build a team of those willing to fight against Adamant Enigma. Wanna join?" SearchMan asks.

"Hey cool, sure! I may just have parts for you guys to play in my movie for this." VideoMan accepts.

"What's your movie about?" Blackberry asks.

"Oh, I'm glad you asked! It's a love story between a vilage girl and a man that is cursed to turn into a beastly creature at night. And no, I don't plan on using a werewolf." VideoMan breifly explains.

"What kind of creature?" Blackberry asks.

VideoMan answers as the group starts to follow Roll again, "I did some research and picked a gryphon. Those things haven't been used yet."

"A gryphon, huh? Any chance I could play a gryphon?" Serious Nimbus asks.

"Hmm, quite possibly, my fine feathered friend. I can play with the effects so you'll look like one." VideoMan replies.

The group continues to follow Roll towards the area as Blackberry asks for more information on VideoMan's movie, it became a hot topic within the group as he shared the story with her. Eventualy, they reach the area a half hour later as the cyber sky starts to reflect the Earth's sunset. The spot is indeed big enough to fit a hotel, and is just on the edge of the city. ShadeMan starts to suggest using pieces of the Darkloid Base to attempt to build a base. Bass then gets an idea. He remembers from when he looked into MegaMan's memories that PharoahMan build a CyberPyramid in mere seconds, and starts to think he could do the same. He shares his idea with the others, and Serenade decides to help out. With that in mind, knowing where to teleport to, all the others start to teleport to and from the spot, taking bits and pieces of the ruined Darkloid Base. They finish salvaging what they could within three hours, and Bass and Serenade quickly get to work, morphing the pieces with their powers. Blackberry tries to help by copying what Bass is doing, but trying to manipulate her Holy Aura in order to do so, failing multpile times. MegaMan gets her to stop before she tires herself out, and WackoMan detaches his WackoBall so she can play instead. To get on Bass's good side, ElecMan attempts to help out using his electricity.

VideoMan says to Blackberry as she jumps onto the WackoBall, "You know, Blackberry, I may have an idea of a part for you and the others in my movie."

"Really? That'd be cool! What part can I play?" Blackberry asks.

"Well," VideoMan begins, "I was thinking you could play the lead village girl, and ElecMan could play the man who becomes cursed."

Bass loses his ability to hold a large piece of rubble and drops it. ElecMan ends up startled from the idea and accidentally sends a burst of electricity to a piece he was moving and chars it before he drops it. Everyone looks over at VideoMan, but Blackberry looks at Bass and ElecMan seeing their reactions.

"Uhh, VideoMan, you may wanna rethink that. Bass and ElecMan aren't really seeing eye-to-eye right now." NumberMan whispers.

"Huh? I thought after that battle they were getting along." VideoMan says.

"Not yet..." Serious Nimbus says.


	16. Setting the Stage

Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "[abc]"  
Language Translation: "abc [def]"

**NOTE FROM RYDRAKE:** I will warn you now, I am unaware of the events after the _Axess_ season, as _Stream, Beast, and Beast+_ never received an English adaption. I am also unable to find any episodes with English subs, so no flames or anything similar.

Chapter 16:  
Setting the Stage

In an unknown part of the Net, where no Navi can venture due to the abundance of Viruses and broken data streams, Adamant Enigma stands, waiting for the return of Hardy Quake, the new Bear NetNavi he created. Right now, only Bold Wily and Lax Nature, a Bull NetNavi, have returned to give their reports. This part of the net is dark, surrounded by puprle, blue, and red broken data streams of possibly deleted data, and the platforms all around being unreachable; they are so far apart that a Navi would need the ability to fly to each platform. The Viruses here are not influenced by anything, making them the strongest of viruses. A few rare Life Viruses are seen walking around, all varying colors, which is odd for them as Life Viruses don't have many other forms compared to Mettaurs. Suddenly, a Spikey Virus collapses, and soon its data is deleted almost instantly, being added to the broken purple data streams.

"Adamant Enigma, I suggest we begin this meeting while we can. Something must've happened to Hardy Quake if he is not showing." Bold Wily says.

"I suppose you're right. This cannot wait any longer. Let's begin. Status Report." Adamant Enigma begins.

Lax Nature speaks first, "Sir! I have successfully gone from one country to the next destroying half the world's airlines. Half of all existing airplanes along with their airports are destroyed."

"Very good, Lax Nature. But why only half in one day?" Adamant Enigma asks.

"Well, sir, we are NetNavis, and sadly, NetNavis tire out at some point. As soon as I recover, I will destory the rest of the world's airlines." Lax Nature says.

Adamant Enigma says, "Very well. Conserve as much strength as you can for tonight. Tomorrow, you should have twice the stamina you had today. Bold Wily, what is your status report?"

Bold Wily replies, "Sir, all I could do after being soaked by my ex-lackeys was take out as many trains as I could possibly find. However, upon doing so, I started to realize destroyting the trains was a waste of time. Instead, I destroyed the railways and made the subways collapse, should the humans try something."

"As long as you are trying to make progress." Adamant Enigma says.

Suddenly, a rift opens up near the ground, and out climbs Hardy Quake, still wearing the damage he received from fighting PlantMan. The others could tell this as he had some thonrs stuck on his body that he is still trying to pick out.

"Well, it would appear PlantMan proved to be too strong for you." Adamant Enigma analyzes.

Hardy Quake growls, "You're telling me. Who'd thought that I'd be weak to Grass Elements. Bah, I may have to try something different in order to get to that young Bass Twin."

"That won't be necassery, Hardy Quake. I would rather if you took out her guards first; once they fall, she'll have no defense and her capture will be easy." Adamant Enigma states.

"What do you mean?" Bold Wily asks.

"With Blackberry's Ultimate Truth Program, and now the 'secret' virus busting NetNavis, SharkMan, WoodMan, and SkullMan snooping around Serenade, I can start setting up the perfect trap while everyone is distracted." Adamant Enigma replies.

"Let me guess, you're going to lure Blackberry away from the group?" Lax Nature asks.

"Pff, please. That's too predictable. No, I'm going to do something a little different. Luring Blackberry will be way too easy." Adamant Enigma answers.

"Then what are you planning on doing?" Bold Wily asks.

Adamant Enigma says, "You'll all see soon enough. For now, these are your tasks. Lax Nature, continue to take down the airlines around the globe. Bold Wily, start setting all ships on fire and have them sink; the humans may try using alternatives soon. Hardy Quake, you will starts to destroy railways and subways that Bold Wily has started. Carry this out early in the morning. For now, recover your strength and energy."

"Sir! Yes, Sir!" the three agree.

The three separate to different platforms and conceal themselves in their elements: Lax Nature creates a tipi-like structure using Wood Tower, Bold Wily sets up a ring of fire around himself, and Hardy Quake burrows underground. Adamant Enigma looks at one of the many broken red data streams, grabs a hold of it, and turns it into a sphere that shows him Lan's current group, heading into two different classrooms across from each other. He knows that what he has planned won't be able to go into action right away. He looks at the Ultimate Truth Program, its once brilliant blush pink color with green orbs orbiting around it has now turned pure black with purple orbs orbiting it. The program's color change only happened recently after being used to cut ties between NetOp and NetNavi. It has been influenced by the hands of evil.

Meanwhile, at DenTech Academy, Mr. Famous, Count Zap, Mr. Match, and Yahoot, are in a classroom across from the kids and Maddy, who was true to her word. The guys were starting to become good friends, despite the fact that Yahoot was meditating in a yoga pose. The kids and Maddy were now only trying to rest, lying on the fold-out beds, with Yai complaining that they are not comfortable and smell funny. All of a sudden, a virus teleports into their room. It was carrying multpile bags, each having a name written on them. This Mystery Virus was really nothing more than a Boomer Virus (the ones that look like clothes line clips). It hands everyone their respective bags, then heads across, handing the remaining respective bags. When everyone looks in their bags, they are shocked to see it was their own clothes. Maddy was not pleased at this as the virus even packed her undergarments as well.

Maddy shouts, "That Mr. Famous is a total pervert! I'm gonna beat his head in tomorrow!"

"Maddy, I'm not exactly happy myself, but at least they're our own. Mr. Famous must've told the Boomer Virus to grab everything that belonged to us." Maylu says.

They can all suddenly hear Yahoot, Count Zap, and Mr. Match yelling; they're just as surprised as Maddy, and letting Mr. Famous know. Lan starts to go through his bag to find his pj's, but comes across what he feels to be cardboard and glass. He pulls it out and finds it's a small picture frame, containing a picture of him standing next to the Dimensional Area Cube in SciLab with MegaMan and Blackberry inside of it. In the picture, Lan is on the left, his left hand on the cube, Blackberry placing her right hand on the same spot. MegaMan is standing slightly behind Blackberry's left side while having his right arm wrapped around Blackberry's side. All three are smiling in the picture, with MegaMan looking slightly serious. The others get close and look.

"Lan, when did you have that taken?" Maylu asks.

"I think I had it taken the day she decided to stay with me and MegaMan. I had it done late that night while the other Navis were asleep and Bass had gone to NetCity. Blackberry was really energetic and wouldn't hold still, so I tried distracting her placing my hand on the DA cube. It worked, and we were able to get her pose." Lan replies, trying not to choke.

"You really care about Blackberry, don't you Lan?" Chaud asks.

"Of course. I care about MegaMan too, but I think the both of us became way too attached to Blackberry. I wonder what she'd say seeing me like this..." Lan says.

Dex says, "She'd probably say 'Stop being so depressed and get your ass in gear!'"

"Maybe something more like, 'As long as we stick together, anything is possible'." Maddy guesses.

"She'd probably be begging to play by now with things being the way they are." Chaud says.

"I can see her jumping onto Glyde's back trying to get him to fly." Yai says.

Chaud laughs and says, "I can see her yanking on ProtoMan's hair trying to get him to play catch with her and the others!"

"...I remember how she stole his sunglasses just to see his eyes." Lan says.

"I remember how frightened she was when she met us." Maylu says.

"I can remember how cute she looked when Wily uncovered her from the Bug Frag Mass. She was still adorable even after that." Maddy recalls.

"Blackberry was nothing but adorable. But we shouldn't be talking like her or the others were deleted; I know for a fact they're still alive and somewhere in NetCity." Maylu says.

"She's right. We need to pull together and be strong like them." Dex says, full of spirit.

"We'll find a way to re-establsh communication with everyone. And we'll defeat Adamant Enigma in the process!" Maddy says.

Lan says, "In that case, I'll pull myself together, find the best viruses out there, and locate MegaMan and Blackberry!"

"That's the spirit, kid!" Maddy says.

In NetCity, the Net's sky was reflecting the night sky from Earth. Every NetNavi had found a place to stay, and no one was outside for fear of Adamant Enigma and his incarnations. MegaMan and the others had their new base only half constructed, but it was enough to give them a wall to hide behind. While everyone was asleep, Blackberry laid wide awake. She couldn't sleep at all; she kept picturing Adamant Enigma, holding her by her head and the feeling of the Ultimate Truth Program being ripped out of her. She looks next to her, seeing Bass is dead asleep, his arm wrapped around her, and his cloak covering them both. Blackberry tries very gently to lift up her brother's arm, but he only cuddles closer. She then gets an idea to wiggle her way out, but Bass would only slightly tighten his grip. She looks around, trying to see if anyone else around her is awake. She was about to give up, until she hears someone whisper to her; it was Serenade.

He quietly asks, "What's wrong, Blackberry?"

She quietly answers, "I can't sleep."

"That's not good. Is something on your mind?"

"I can't get the image of Adamant Enigma tearing my Ultimate Truth Program out of me. Each time I close my eyes, I see it replay in my head."

"There's something else that's keeping you from sleeping, isn't there?"

"...In situations like this, Zappy would play his guitar till I fell asleep. I miss Zappy..."

"Aww. Hmm, maybe I can help you get to sleep. Let's try this."

Serenade takes one of his raiments and tosses it over to Blackberry. It takes control of itself, and gently wraps around Blackberry's eyes, making them close. She appears to be relaxed, feeling how silky the raiment is, when she sudenly struggles to get it off. The image had returned again. She manages to push it up off her eyes, and breathes a depressed sigh. As Blackberry starts to become upset, small harmless jolts of electricity jump towards her. They find her ears and attach themselves to them, softy emitting a guitar playing. She looks around and finds ElecMan looking at her with a smile. She grins and lies back down covering her eyes with the raiment. She starts to fully relax, the image of Adamant Enigma being overwhelmed with images of all the NetOps. While Serenade and ElecMan nod to each other, Bass wakes up, seeing the new items Blackberry has. He looks over at Serenade who waves back, then glares at ElecMan, who flinches. Before Bass decides to remove the electric jolts, he could hear the guitar emitting from them. He looks back at ElecMan with a calmer look.

"Are you serious?" Bass asks.

"Completely. When she would have issues sleeping, Count Zap would play his guitar for her. It's the only thing that works; believe me, we've tried other methods." ElecMan replies.

"Hey, if it works, it works. But we should return to sleep, otherwise we'll have no energy to complete building this base." Serenade says.

"He's right. The jolts will disappear as soon as she wakes up." ElecMan says, lying back down.

Serenade lies back down as well. Bass lies his head back down and looks at his sister. She looked a lot more peaceful than she did before everyone fell asleep. He closes his eyes and starts to drift off..

Morning finally comes to NetCity. Bass was still sleeping, now fully occupying his cloak. Blackberry had woken up early and left with Roll and MegaMan to see if they could find cyber furniture for the base. They were having no luck until they came upon the building where Aki is. Blackberry stops the two and asks if they could go see her. Before Roll tries to deny this idea, MegaMan agrees, saying they might be able to get some information from her about how they were still able to get radio transmissions. Roll thinks back to Net Repair, how they were still getting music and updates from outside. She then agrees, and the two follow Blackberry inside.

Once inside, they find a saddened Aki, sitting down and not singing. They approach her, asking what's going on.

"With all the communicatios cut, I can't get in contact with my creators. But, I'm not a NetNavi, so why am I still here?" Aki replies, soon questioning her existance.

"Maybe you hold another purpose if you're still here." Roll says.

"You think so?" Aki asks.

"I do! When Otousan brought us to this place called Net Repair, we heard the radio system was still working. Maybe that's why you're not gone; you must still have some kind of connection to the news stations." Blackberry theorizes.

"Maybe...Wait, let me try something." Aki says, getting a thought.

Behind her appears a screen that looks like a digital radio. It showed to have a strong signal, but indicated to only radio stations, since they still use certain soundwaves to pass on information. She turns the volume up, only getting static from the current station. Aki turns the dial, and finds a station where people can be heard. They wre giving the current news report:

"All of our news updates are live and current. Right now we can see what appears to be the Bull-like NetNavi from yesterday taking down planes with its bare hands, and destroying all airports, while creating raised ground barriers to prevent planes that weren't destroyed from taking off. Knowing this, a lot of airports around the world have shut down, but this NetNavi remains determined to make sure we stay grounded. Another NetNavi that looks like a Grizzly Bear is destroying railways and subway stations, peventing us from traveling through those means. We're getting another report of a Helhound-like NetNavi is now destroying all kinds of ships by setting them on fire and making them sink, stopping us from traveling anywhere at all. We did see a strange cloaked NetNavi in certain spots, but so far, no one has sen it. Folks, please stay tuned as we will attempt to bring you all the current reports of what seems like the world's destruction."

All four quickly become discouraged, knowing Adamant Enigma has been causing destruction to the Earth. Blackberry starts to become increasingly worried for Count Zap, Lan, and the others.

"I can't believe this. This is worse than what Dr. Regal and LaserMan tried to pull." MegaMan says.

"Who's Dr. Regal and LaserMan?" Blackberry asks.

"Two psychopaths that you don't need to know about." Roll says.

"Well, at least we can get updates, even if they're not good. Aki, we'll come check on you again at some point. Right now, we're trying to build a base and gather up as many NetNavis as possible that are willing to help us take down Adamant Enigma." MegaMan says.

"Okay. I'l be here. Let me know when you finish your base; I'll connect the radio to it." Aki says.

The three then leave, MegaMan trying yo reassure a worried Blackberry that all the NetOps are okay. As they exit the building, someone crashes into Roll by running too fast and not paying attention. Roll kicks the NetNavi off her, only to discover it's ShiningMan, one of the lesser known NetNavis. Back in the N1 Grand Prix, he ws partnered with ProtoMan, but before he could launch an attack against the enemy tag team, ProtoMan instantly wiped out the opposing team, and ShiningMan.

ShiningMan gets up, and helps Roll up while saying, "I'm so sorry. I was running in fear and wasn't watching where I was going."

"Running in fear from what?" MegaMan asks.

"Oh I recently heard the news and panicked...I let it get to me." ShiningMan replies.

"Try not to let it get to you next time. Hey, me and my friends are starting to put together a team of NetNavis who are willing to help take down Adamant Enigma. Wanna join?" MegaMan asks.

ShiningMan replies excitedly, "I'd love to help you out! I'll shed some **light** on that evil NetNavi! Where are you located?"

"If you keep going down that way, you'll find everyone on the edge of the city still building the base." Roll answers.

"Excellent! I shall go and help out! I shall see you later, my friends!" ShiningMan says, heading in the direction Roll pointed out.

As soon as he's out of hearing range, Blackberry states with an unimpressed look, "That guy is incredibly lame."

Roll and MegaMan laugh and say, "You're just like your brother!"


	17. The True Face of Evil

Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "[abc]"  
Language Translation: "abc [def]"

**NOTE FROM RYDRAKE:** I will warn you now, I am unaware of the events after the _Axess_ season, as _Stream, Beast, and Beast+_ never received an English adaption. I am also unable to find any episodes with English subs, so no flames or anything similar.

Chapter 17:  
The True Face of Evil

With the Dimensional Area surrounding the Earth and blocking the sun's rays, and the first night having already passed, the temperature over night had fallen well into the negatives, causing most areas around DenTech City to flash freeze. Lan and co. had no choice but to put on their winter gear before beating the front doors of the school open, only to get blasted by a gust of cold air. They walk outside and find the water fountain was completely frozen; water stopped flowing. While exploring they had found the flower garden, and all the flowers were frozen where they stood.

"Oh man, it's like the temperature fell to Absolute Zero last night!" Maylu says, seeing ice covering most objects.

"Absolute Zero? How cold is that?" Dex asks.

"Absolute Zero is -459 degrees Fahrenheit. Don't you kids pay attention in class anymore?" someone replies.

The group looks towards the water fountain and finds Mr. Higsby.

"Hey alright, it's Higsby!" Lan says happily.

"Yup. With all communications being cut and now DenTech flash frozen, I can't sell any chips. As of now though, shops around the world are going to be out of business." Higsby says.

"Wow really? Wait, that means...AYANOTECH'S OUT OF BUSINESS!" Yai freaks.

Chaud calmly says, "That means BlazeQuest is just as screwed. Is it all due to the cut communications?"

"It sure is. The banks can't operate at all because everything around us relies on the Net and NetNavis. And now with everything horribly frozen, nothing electrical works. The only things that work now are the PETs." Higsby explains.

"So then what are you doing here?" Yahoot asks.

"Ms. Mari sent me an email yesterday saying that DenTech Academy is being used as a shelter. When I tried to get out of my shop an hour ago, the doors were frozen shut. I actually jumped through the glass to get out." Higsby replies.

"You couldn't use something blunt, like your computer?" Dex asks.

"I can't exactly risk my computer monitor. And my trash buckets are all plastic, so guess who breaks first." Higsby answers.

"In that case, would you like to join us? We're going to look for strong viruses to defeat Adamant Enigma and his minions." Mr. Match asks.

Higsby thinks for a moment, then replies, "Eh, not right now. I need to see what I can do for a room first. Then I have to go back and grab my things."

"But if you join us, you'll have a room." Count Zap says.

"I will? Hmm...well, in that case, I'll join." Higsby says.

"Good. Now follow me back inside. I want to upload the Location Scanner Program into your PET before you set out." Mr. Famous instructs.

"Alright then." Higsby agrees.

"Wait, what should we do?" Lan asks.

"Go on ahead. We'll join you later." Mr. Famous says.

Meanwhile, in the unknown net, Adamant Enigma watches Lan's group carefully, now knowing what they're up to. He loooks at the Ultimate Truth Program, then back at the group. He zooms on each member, trying to figure out how to strike.

"{Hmm...I can't attack with them as a group. Any experienced hunter knows to wait for the group to disperse. Ngh...I'm losing my grip on patients. Damn my true nature. No, I need to stay calm and collected. I need to wait for the humans to separate!}"

Lax Nature soon returns, shaking off some ice that started to build on him. He walks up to Adamant Enigma with a confident look.

"Sir, I have successfully taken down all means of flight around the Earth. What else do you command?" Lax Nature reports, looking for another task.

Adamant Enigma does not reply. An amber-colored aura starts to surround him, and he drops the Ultimate Truth orb. The aura starts to grow larger, and Lax Nature starts to back off, sensing an immense amount of danger. The viruses that inhabit this area hide in partially created tunnels, each one containing one Life Virus. The aura begins to come in contact with the orb, making it react violently, but no effect occurs. It was not mean to neutralize an aura not made of darkness; this was pure evil, and almost non-NetNavi. When Bold Wily and Hardy Quake return, they find a frightened Lax Nature, and an out of control Adamant Enigma. The Ultimate Truth Program starts to react with the aura. It floats up, effortlessly pushes through the aura, and soon merges with Adamant Enigma. Just then, the aura disappears, and the cloaked Navi collapses. His three incarnations look on shocked and confused.

"Uh, Adamant Enigma?" Bold Wily asks.

Soon, another aura separates from Adamant Enigma and forms quickly into a Piranha, but with more pronounced fangs, psychotic yellow eyes, a shiny silver body, blue-grey fins and tail, and a red belly. It looks around as Adamat Enigma stands and faces his small group. The cloak had several holes in it, and out of the hood stood two deer-like antlers, making his head look smaller than before. His face still could not be clearly seen as the rest of the hood covered it perfectly.

"Tell us your name...new minion..." Adamant Enigma commands.

With a voice like that of _Bonzai_ from _The Lion King_, he replies, "My name...is Quirky Wave...and I shall DEVOUR ALL WEAK NETNAVIS!"

"Whoa, is this guy insane or what? Why devour? We want to delete them! And that rebellious Serious Nimbus." Hardy Quake freaks.

"It's the same thing. This guy just has an insatiable appetite. However, I can control mine." Adamant Enigma replies.

"Eating a Navi isn't the same as deleting them! That held true with the Gospel Virus!" Bold Wily argues.

"You don't understand. Anything or anyone eaten by Quirky Wave is **permenently deleted**. Whatever is devoured will never return." Adamant Enigma says.

"...{Something's not right. I know I'm evil and everything, but Adamant Enigma didn't sound so demonic before. I wonder if that aura had anything to do with it...and Quirky Wave just gave me a clue.}" Bold Wily thinks.

"Listen up! Lax Nature, go with Hardy Quake and attack the NetNavis. Boly Wily, go with Quirky Wave and attack humanity. But, leave Lan and his friends alive...I need them for something." Adamant Enigma comands.

No words said, Lax Nature and Hardy Quake leave for NetCity. Quirky Wave swims over to Bold Wily, circles him, smells him, and quickly teleports to DenTech City. Before Bold Wily leaves, he looks at Adamant Enigma who is watching the group. Although he wants to confront him, he can't. He leaves for NetCity instead. The Viruses don't dare come out of hiding, fearing Adamant Enigma's newfound power and demonicness. Adamant Enigma then falls to his knees, grabs onto his head as if in pain, and yells so loud that he creates a shockwave.

In NetCity, ShiningMan found the other NetNavis still trying to construct the base. This time, Bass, Serenade, and ElecMan were receiving help from BurnerMan, PlantMan, and Serious Nimbus, successfully creating the first floor of the base. On the inside, GutsMan, Glyde, ProtoMan, TorchMan, and SearchMan were shaping out rooms for the floor, making a large lobby, a room for relaxation, a security room to keep track of all the NetNavis that have joined, two teleporting spots, two elevator shafts, and a stairwell. When ShiningMan went inside, discovering that doors have yet to be placed, he sees ProtoMan pop up from behind the lobby desk.

"ProtoMan!" ShiningMan calls.

ProtoMan looks towards the entrance seeing ShiningMan. He gets a fuzzy memory from the N1 Grand Prix when he was to team up with him, and then shows a disgusted look.

ShiningMan demands, "ProtoMan, I wish to know why you took me out in our tag battle!"

ProtoMan replies without hesitation, "You were in my way...and you were weak."

"WHAT? I'll have you know I have many great abilities!"

"Like what? Blinding your foes? {Someone make him go away!}"

Meanwhile in the streets, Roll, Blackberry, and MegaMan had found a net store that sells cyber furniture, but the bad thing is, they can't sell. They recently tried a method of putting up a list of all their items and who they were given to and when, but found it to be too hectic, and closed up shop. The only reason the NetNavis remain here is because of the inability to jack-out. Blackberry suggests and idea of having the customer jot down what they bought and when, and turn it into the employees before they leave. The employe they are speaking to is eager to give it a shot, and would like to try it. He walks over to the doors and announces they are open again, and other NetNavis start to enter the store. Before Roll and MegaMan can get started, they find Blackberry had gone missing. They look around and find her half sunk in a leather couch. She was struggling to get off. The two walk over and look at her.

"Hey guys, can you get me out of this?" Blackberry asks, knowing she's trapped.

"Only if you stay within our sights." MegaMan says.

"Okay, I won't run off! Just get me out!" Blackberry quickly agrees.

MegaMan and Roll help her out of the couch and she quickly hides behind the two, now afraid of it. They begin to look around for simple chairs and possible couches for the first floor, having a feeling it should be completed by now. As they pass by the section of mattresses, Blackberry separates once again, and tests out one that is a Temperpedic Cloud. She lies down on it, becoming quickly comfortable. She is then approached by another NetNavi, who is covered in armor and sports a large spike ball on his left arm. Blackberry is frozen in fear, staring directly at the weapon more than the NetNavi. The armored NetNavi sees her, then looks ahead and sees MegaMan and Roll, oblivious that Blackberry wandered off again.

The NetNavi calls, "MegaMan! Roll!"

The two turn around and spot Blackberry and the Navi, who is waving at them. They rush over, and once they got close, Blackberry jumps off the bed and hides behind them.

"Hey alright, KnightMan, you're here too." MegaMan says, relieved he is okay.

"Yes, I am. I'm surprised I have yet to be attacked after the forced jack-in. Say, your little friend looks vaguely familiar." KnightMan says.

"You met her older brother, Bass, last time. This is his younger twin sister, Blackberry." Roll introduces.

"Ah yes, I remember seeing him while I was still frozen. Anyway, do you know what's going on?" KnightMan recalls.

MegaMan and Roll fill him in on what's been happening so far between NetCity and the world. KnightMan was very surprised to learn all he did about Blackberry and her two programs; the Sibling Program and the Ultimate Truth Program. They tell him about the team they're trying to form, and KnightMan gladly decides to join for two reasons: to be sure that his AntiVirus Program is protected, and that he can return the favor by helping protect everyone. But despite the entire time he has been talking to Roll and MegaMan, Blackberry remains strongly wary of him, kreeping her eye on his Royal Wrecking Ball. She is unsure what to make of him.

Speaking of confusion, Hardy Quake and Lax Nature are hiding in a dark alley, keeping themselves hidden from the NetNavis. They have yet to make a move, and are still highly disturbed at what recently happened to Adamant Enigma. They sit on boxes trying to figure out what to do.

"Something's just not right with him. Seeing those antler/horn things still freaks me out, and my animal isn't normally afraid of anything." Lax Nature says.

"Same here. But it was something our boss said that gets me. He said that Quirky Wave has an insatiable hunger. We're all based off certain aspects o him, right?" Hardy Quake says.

"Yeah. Brave Geyser was based off determination, Timid Tundra was his stubborness, Serious Nimbus...it's in the name and excellent battle skills, I'm based off pure physical strength, you're based off overall toughness and can take hits well until becoming overwhelmed, and now Quirky Wave..." Lax Nature tries to explain before a voice says, "...is his chronic hunger."

The two look out at the streets and find Serious Nimbus scouting the area. He moves in and stops once he's a couple feet away.

Hardy Quake asks, "What do you mean Quirky Wave is based off of Adamant Enigma's chronic hunger?"

"You two haven't tried researching, have you? I know exactly what Adamant Enigma is, but don't forget, we don't look exactly like the animals we are. He may look different from what I found." Serious Nimbus says.

"You know what he is? Tell us!" Lax Nature demands.

"Sorry, you two will have to find out on your own. That kind of information is confidential. I haven't even told my new friends yet." Serious Nimbus denies.

"You really are a traitor. Hey, let's get him now." Hardy Quake says.

"We were told to attack. Let's have some fun." Lax Nature agrees.

"Good luck catching me. I'm the definition of speed!" Serious Nimbus says, taking of into the sky and using Ninja Feathers (used to pin Chaud and ProtoMan to a wall), and Raining Hail, the feathers hitting the hail causing explosions to alert the others.

Serious Nimbus quickly puts up his Electrical Field, attempting to keep down the attack strength of Lax Nature's Wood Element. Due to elemental typing, Hardy Quake will barely take any damage from Serious Nimbus. Lax Nature uses Wood Tower, sending sharpened logs straight at the Eagle Navi. Suddenly, a series of blue flames hurddle towards the logs, burning them and canceling out the attack. The Bull and Bear Navis rush out into the street, now cleared of any civilians, but now containing the other NetNavis. BurnerMan and TorchMan use their attacks to successfully separate the two animal Navis, taking of Lax Nature without hesitation. PlantMan and MagicMan summoning Water-Element Viruses take on Hardy Quake, ready for anything. WackoMan, staying behind all the others, summons a Blue WackoDoll to the front, preparing for Aqua Tower, then summons his Red WackoDoll to aid BurnerMan and TorchMan using Fire Tower. SearchMan stays completely out of site with ShadeMan as they wait for the right opportunity to strike from atop a tall building. SearchMan takes careful aim on Lax Nature while ShadeMan looks for an opening to strike Hardy Quake. Serious Nimbis then goes into a dive, heading right for Lax Nature, preparing to use Lightning Strike. BurnerMan, TorchMan, and Red WackoDoll move out of the way, and Serious Nimbus impacts Lax Nature, zaping him with all he's got.

In DenTech City, Bold Wily had found a place to hide from Quirky Wave, choosing to hide in a cremation oven to keep himself from freezing. He was able to activate it, and was keeping himself alive and warm by the hot flames. This was also recovering the health he may have lost from destroying all the ships he could find around the world. It is here he is able to think freely. He recalls Adamant Enigma's new look, and what he said about Quirky Wave's insatiable hunger.

"I've done a lot of researching on just what Adamant Enigma could be. The only thing I could see before those holes revealed those antlers were his giant yellow owl-like eyes. The fact that Quirky Wave has an insatiable hunger can only varify what he truly is. But what was that creature called?"

Wily brings up a screen and starts to look for the clues that will give him the answer he is looking for. Minutes later, he finally locates his answer, seeing the info of the creature match the clues he had received.

"Well, this says everything, except for the fact the Navis he created are images of himself. Adamant Enigma is a legendary creature. He is the W-" Wily tries to say before Quirky Wave opens the door to the cremation oven.

"Sooo, there you are. C'mon, those humans are ripe for the picking." Quirky Wave says.

Bold Wily replies as the flames diminish, "We are only going to fight the humans, not eat them, got it? I am Adamant Enigma's Second-in-Command, so you will listen to me."

"Of course, Mr. Hellhound of DenTech. Just don't get in my way."

"Stay out of mine."


	18. The True Face of Evil pt2

Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "[abc]"  
Language Translation: "abc [def]"

**NOTE FROM RYDRAKE:** I will warn you now, I am unaware of the events after the _Axess_ season, as _Stream, Beast, and Beast+_ never received an English adaption. I am also unable to find any episodes with English subs, so no flames or anything similar.

Chapter 18:  
The True Face of Evil pt2

Lan and friends travel down familiar streets, following their new PET Program: Location Scanner. So far the areas are safe with wild viruses flying around over buildings, trying to keep clear of everything. The viruses were showing signs of confusion and frustration, being completely unable to leave the Dimensional Area. Neither of them were able to capture any viruses, except for one failed attempt made by Yai once more. She had spotted a common Mettaur virus, and tried to catch it by pouncing on it. The Mettaur freaks and runs off, causing Yai to fall face flat on the pavement. As they pass the chip shop, seeing the damage Higsby created trying to get out, Bold Wily and Quirky Wave appear suddenly before them. Wily spits out fire from his mouth, trapping the group in a ring of fire. Chaud summons out his KilbyEX virus, having it make a makeshift bridge through the fire, everyone rushing out at once. KilbyEX stays in front of the group as they are forced to stop short. Quirky Wave starts to drool becoming overly eager to attack.

"So, we meet again, Wily..." Mr. Match says.

"Indeed. It's about time you four become fully retired!" Wily says, flames forming in his hands.

"FEEDING TIIIIIIIIIIIME!" Quirky Wave shouts as he dashes, mouth wide open.

"Damn it you stupid fish! I said not to eat them!" Wily yells.

The group dodges the attack. KilbyEX starts to jab at Quirky Wave with a bamboo stick rapdily. The Piranha Navi evades each jab, and grabs onto the stick with his teeth. He lifts the virus up and slams it into a building. The KilbyEX virus retreats back to Chaud's PET, not having enough strength left to battle. Maylu was just about to send out her virus, but Lan stops her.

"NYAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA! You humans are soooooo pathetic! Do you honestly think you can defeat me so damn easily? Now if that virus was electric, you might've had a chance! Now then, just stand there like good little human popsicles and let me EAT YOOOOUUUUU!" Quirky Wave taunts before dashing in again, mouth wide open.

Suddenly, Wily tackles the Piranha Navi, sending him flying a good couple miles away. Wily breathes a heavy sigh, then looks at the group.

"What are doing? Don't you wanna kill us?" Count Zap demands.

Wily thinks for a moment, then replies, "I can't. I'm starting to have second thoughts."

"Second thoughts? What do you mean?" Lan asks.

Wily answers, "Although I enjoy having a more flexible body and feeling much younger and energetic, I'm starting to think twice about my evil deeds. You see, Adamant Enigma hasn't been himself lately."

"Wait, are you saying you have a heart?" Maddy jokes.

"Not funny." Wily says. "Anyway, ever since Adamant Enigma stole Blackberry's secret Ultimate Truth Program-"

Lan interrupts, "Whoa hold on! Blackberry had a secret program?"

Wily looks at Lan confused and asks, "You never knew? Holy crap! But yes. This program was meant to revive the Net should it have been destroyed. It can even revive humanity. But in the wrong hands, it can cause all kinds of destruction. Ever since Adamant Enigma's had it, he's been acting very strange. The program recently fused with his body, and from that he created Quirky Wave."

"...Is Blackberry okay? And the others?" Lan asks, becoming worried.

"Yes, they are all okay, I can assure you that. But, I think I've figured out what kind of creature Adamant Enigma is. He isn't an animal like you've seen so far. He's a creature of my status: legendary." Wily replies.

"What is he then?" Maylu asks.

"He's a-GUAAHHH!" Wily tries to say before he is impaled from the back by an arm.

The group sees it is Adamant Enigma himself, impaling Wily with a really long 4-fingered arm. Adamant Enigma removes his hand from Wily's body, as it starts to spill data rather than blood. Wily falls onto his hands and knees, placing one hand up against the injury with data flowing around his hand. Wily looks back at his leader with an aggressive expression, bearing and showing his teeth, eyes shooting daggers. Adamant Enigma smacks Wily a few feet away, the force knocking off his hood, revealing his true face. Yahoot looks on with a terrified look.

Dex notices and asks, "Yahoot, you're turning pale! What's wrong?"

Yahoot shakily replies, "I've heard of that creature before! It is said that it is a cannibalistic spirit that can posses people, and can show up in times of great famine! Their appearance has dwindled since the mid-1800s, and are said to live in mountainous regions in America. I can't believe there is one here in Japan!"

Adamant Enigma grabs his hood and flips it back over his face as he glares at the group. Single-toed hooves can be seen from the bottom of the cloak. The long clawed arms can be easily seen from the recently ripped sleeves. He then levitates over to Count Zap and in a flash has him pinned against a building. Count Zap's PET slips out of his hand and appears on his forehead. This is Adamant Enigma's doing; he is using his Telekenisis. But then, the PET splits apart as if going through Cross Fusion, only it starts to merge with Count Zap. Within seconds, Count Zap had been turned into a Hyena-like NetNavi.

"Perfect. You have turned into your true Animalistic Form." Adamant Enigma says.

"What the hell did you do to him?" Maddy flips.

Adamant Enigma looks at her and replies, "Made him my minion. And the rest of you are about to join him."

"I DON'T THINK SO!" Wily shouts as he pounces and bites onto Adamant Enigma's arm.

Adamant Enigma flails his arm up and down, but Wily refuses to come loose. The Cloaked Navi starts to slam Wily against the street, Lan and co. watching in horror as Wily tries to protect them. However, the next slam forces Wily to let go. Adamant Enigma then has his right hand transform into a buster that is in the shape of a dragon's head, charges it, and fires it right at Wily. Wily is overwhelmed by the attack, and soon the word "DELETED" appears, just like it did with MegaMan when PharoahMan deleted him at the end of the N1 Grand Prix. Adamant Enigma had killed Wily, his data being absorbed into the Cloaked Navi's body. The group stands in complete shock, and makes a run for it. Quirky Wave soon returns to the area a bit dizzy from his two mile flight. Adamant Enigma watches as the group runs in fear. Count Zap goes into a fit of laughter, sounding just like a hyena.

Meanwhile in NetCity, Lax Nature had logged out from Serious Nimbus's attack. The Red WackoDoll becomes a cloud of smoke and disipates. TorchMan and BurnerMan focus their attention on Hardy Quake. SearchMan and ShadeMan take aim on the Bear Navi, and SearchMan fires his shot, striking the Bear Navi's head. ShadeMan flies down using Noise Crush, then closes in and strikes with Shade Talon, slashing Hardy Quake with an oversized claw. That's when MegaMan, Roll, Blackberry, and KnightMan, who's bringing up the rear, arrive on the scene. Blackberry gets in front of the four, preparing to use Ninja Smoke.

TorchMan sees this last second, and fires a flame at Blackberry shouting, "STAY AWAY!"

Blackberry can't avoid in time and is hit by the flamethrower, being thrusted back and crashes into KnightMan, knocking him over. Everyone glares over at TorchMan, actually stopping in their tracks. Hardy Quake recovers from the Shade Talon attack and finds that TorchMan had attacked Blackberry. He gains a creepy smile and starts to make his way over, but is forced to log out when Bass strikes using Earthbreaker. ShadeMan flies over and lifts Blackberry off KnightMan as MegaMan and Roll help him up. Blackberry starts to cringe, and ShadeMan discovers she's been burned. Bass runs over and takes his sister from the Darkloid NetNavi, seeing the damage the attack has caused, and finding the scortch mark covering most of her abdomen. He places his hand over her emblem trying to activate Airi Echo, but nothing happens. Bass hands her back to ShadeMan before marching over to TorchMan, who starts to back away, but is blocked by GutsMan and ProtoMan. Serenade then sneaks his way over to Blackberry, finding the burn is worse than he thought. Suddenly, a small NetNavi appears dressed in eskimo-like clothes.

MegaMan sees the Navi and calls, "Hey, IceMan!"

IceMan looks over and replies seeing an issue, "MegaMan! What's going on?"

MegaMan explains as IceMan runs over, "TorchMan attacked Blackberry and she's hurt by a nasty burn. Think you can do anything?"

IceMan looks at Blackberry and says, "I might be able to do something. I know, I'll use a gentle Cyber Blizzard!"

"That just might cure her burn. There's not much I can really do..." Serenade says, petting Blackberry on her head.

As Bass and ElecMan start to gang up on TorchMan, IceMan walks over to Blackberry, gently using Cyber Bilzzard on her abdomen. It doesn't cause her to become encased in ice, but instead a pile of snow forms, steam coming off it. The snow quickly melts revealing no scortch mark as TorchMan receives a beating. Blackberry stops cringing from the pain, and opens her eyes to find IceMan looking up at her and smiling.

"Looks like the idea worked. You're burn free, kid." IceMan says.

"Who are you?" Blackberry asks as ShadeMan lets her stand.

"I'm IceMan. I'm good friends with MegaMan and his crew. I was told in an email that you're Bass's younger twin sister." IceMan replies.

"Yeah, that's me. Though, personality-wise, we're polar opposites. Not to mention, I'm in love with someone and he isn't." Blackberry says.

Bass stops punching TorchMan in the face, turns and says, "Last thing I want to happen to you is that he was only after you to get in your pants!"

ElecMan tosses TorchMan aside and argues, "Hey, I am not after her for that at all! I love your sister more deeply than you do!"

ProtoMan facepalms and says, "You just had to go that far, didn't you?"

"Excuse me Sparky, but I am her brother, and I am only trying to protect to the best of my abilities!" Bass fires back.

"Oh yeah, you did a real great job when Adamant Enigma ripped her secret program right out of her!" ElecMan shouts.

"I told you I was knocked out! There was nothing any of us could do at the time!"

"Then get stronger and stop being such a prick about my relationship with her!"

"ENOUGH, THE BOTH OF YOU!" Blackberry yells over them.

Both Bass and ElecMan look at her, seeing tears starting to form in her eyes, and Serenade wrapping his arm around her. The two look at each other and then look away feeling guilty for fighting in front of her again. TorchMan goes to say something, but NumberMan stomps on his head telling him to keep quiet.

Bass says, "My bad..."

"Part of it was my fault too..." ElecMan says.

Blackberry fully calms down and heads over to her brother. The Blue WackoDoll becomes a cloud of smoke and disipates. NovaMan then decides to change the subject.

"Sooo," NovaMan starts, "shall we celebrate our victory?"

"Why should we?" PlantMan asks.

"Well, this would be the first victory our Non-Solo friends have gotten without their NetOps. We should celebrate!" NovaMan replies.

"We can't exactly go to a bar, if that's what you're planning." ProtoMan says.

"Why not?" NovaMan asks.

ProtoMan replies, "For one, Blackberry acts too much like a child, and IceMan looks like one with his height."

IceMan places his fists on his hips and argues, "Oh please, playboy, I sound like a trucker; how can I be denied access so easily?"

"We don't need to do that. We'll head back to base and get Aki to give us music." Serenade says.

ShadeMan says, "Works for me. Let's head back for now."

"And when we get back, I'll share another unique secret with you all." Serenade says, winking at the end.

With that, the team follows ShadeMan back to base as Serious Nimbus splits off to find Aki and get a connection going. TorchMan brings up the rear of the group as a way of punishment for attacking Blackberry. Blackberry climbs onto Bass's back demanding a piggy-back ride, and he has no choice but to do it. KnightMan talks with MegaMan about what Brightland has been up to after Timid Tundra's defeat.

The team arrives at their under construction base a litle while later, and find Serious Nimbus returning. Once inside, they discover that Aki was able to give them a connection to the radio, and also a device she recently created that resembles an iPod. Serious Nimbus says that she calls it the Music Accessor; it can play any song that exists within the Net and can be used at any time. The Eagle Navi places it on the front desk, and he and Glyde start to fiddle with it. Once everyone was inside, Serenade calls SearchMan up front.

"Okay my fellow NetNavis. I am about to reveal to you a secret that neither of you have had the time to discover." Serenade begins.

"Yet everyone else knows this secret?" NumberMan says.

"Indeed! Now, have any of you ever seen a NetNavi strolling through town in undergarments or lingerie?" Serenade asks.

Bass replies, "Come to think of it, in the casino I go to I see a lot of it. What's your point?"

"{Oh no...if he's gonna do what I think he's gona do, Blackberry's gonna be scarred for life!}" SearchMan thinks before he says, "Uh Serenade, I don't think I'm the best candidate for this."

Serenade asks, "What do you mean?"

SearchMan whispers into Serenade's ear, "I go commando..."

Serenade goes quiet and then says, "Uhhh, you know what, you're absolutely right! Switch out with MegaMan please."

"Huh? Why me?" MegaMan asks as he switches places with SearchMan.

Serenade whispers to MegaMan what he plans to do. A bit surprised, MegaMan agrees.

"Okay, let's try this again." Serenade starts, "Now, if you want to know how that occurs, it's reall simply. Simply press the emblem like so..."

Serenade presses MegaMan's emblem like a button, and MegaMan's outfit and helmet begin to glow. Soon, it all retreats to his emblem, revealing his hair and his blue boxers with black paw prints scattered all over. Roll and Blackberry blush madly at this, and Bass tries to cover Blackberry's eyes witrh his cape. He looks at SearchMan and is glad he chickened out.

"As you can see, you don't need those lousy programs the humans have invented. If you have a day where you're doing nothing but lounging around in your PET or computer, just press your emblem and you can be comfortable." Serenade concludes.

"But, how do you get it to return?" Blackberry asks, lifting up Bass's cape.

"You just press it again, like a switch." Serenade replies, pressing MegaMan's emblem again, his outfit and helmet returning in a flash.

"You know, that breeze I felt was actually refreshing. This isn't limited, is it?" MegaMan asks.

"Not at all." Serenade replies. "You can press your emblem any time you want with no restrictions. Though, it is limited to human-like Navis. NumberMan and Serious Nimbus would not be able to activate this secret."

"Fine with me. I don't think I'd enjoy running around in my underwear even in my PET." NumberMan says.

VideoMan wastes no time in pressing his emblem and saying, "Ahhh, now that feels much better! I'm free as a bird!"

Bass retorts, "Says he in boxers with hummingbirds all over them."

Blackberry starts to get ideas, and looks over at ProtoMan with a maniacle face. ProtoMan notices and tries to back off, before he is being chased by her around the lobby. He quickly ducks behind the desk, knocking over the Music Accessor, but Blackberry jumps over, pouncing on him.

"No, Blackberry, stop! Trust me, you don't wanna push my buttons!" ProtoMan shouts.

MegaMan chuckles and thinks, "{Oh that sounded so wrong!}"

"Blackberry dammit, get off me! No, no, don't push the emblem! Gaaaahhhh!" ProtoMan shouts before a light can be seen appearing and disappearing in a flash.

"OH MY GOD! GROOOSSS!" Blackberry cries as she runs away and hides behind Bass.

ProtoMan raises his hand, grabbing onto the desk and pulling himself up saying, "I tried to warn you, and now you're scarred for life."

Bass questions, "Why did she run from you?"

"...I go commando..." ProtoMan replies.

SearchMan says, "Oh my God I'm not alone!"

"Not surprising with you." BurnerMan says.

"...You go commando?" Bass asks as he approaches ProtoMan, Blackberry hiding behind ElecMan. "There's gotta be another reason she's afraid." Bass says becoming curious and looking behind the desk soon exclaiming, "HOLY SHIT DUDE! Were you created next to a nuclear power plant or something?"

Serenade quickly says, "Neither gender is size restricted either..."

"The Bass Twins will be plagued by nightmares tonight." ShadeMan says, trying not to laugh.


	19. Wily Virus

Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "[abc]"  
Language Translation: "abc [def]"

**NOTE FROM RYDRAKE:** I will warn you now, I am unaware of the events after the _Axess_ season, as _Stream, Beast, and Beast+_ never received an English adaption. I am also unable to find any episodes with English subs, so no flames or anything similar.

Chapter 19:  
Wily Virus

An hour passes by as Lan and his group are now safe, hidden under the rubble of a destroyed building. Chaud's KilbyEX Virus and Maylu's Milko Virus work vigurously collecting things to burn to keep the group warm. So far, they have found lots of paper, newspaper, and stuffed animals. Using two pieces of KilbyEX's bamboo, it rubs the sticks together and creates fire, breaking off stronger pieces of its best bamboo so the fire will burn for a long time. Just as the group is surrounding the fire and huddling together, a Swordy Virus appears carrying several candles, and places them on the ground next to the group. Lan looks at the virus, and it pushes the candles to him.

"Hey guys, I think this virus wants us to use the candles for warmth." Lan says.

"[Use them; they're better than burning paper.]" Swordy says.

Dex points his PET to the virus and says, "Hey, the virus appears pink on the PET. What did Mr. Famous say it meant again?"

"It means the Swordy Virus is tame. Lan, you should go for it." Maylu says.

Yai protests standing up, "No way! That virus is going to be mine after the last bunch of failures!"

The Swordy Virus looks at Yai with a blank stare expressing it's dislike for her. Yai looks around and finds some dead wires and quickly makes a lasso out of them. The Swordy Virus puts its sword away by placing it on its back and crosses its arms; it has no interest in Yai. She remains determined and tosses the wire lasso at the virus. Swordy moves out of the way and the lasso lands on the Milko Virus instead, causing it to panic and charge at Yai. Mr. Match stops Milko seconds before impact which calms down the sheep-like virus. Swordy looks back at Lan showing interest by pushing the candles closer to him, then sits up against him trying to share its body heat, much to Lan's surprise that it has body heat. Capturing this virus would be easy for Lan, but he looks at his PET, seeing the screen has changed color again, this time changing to a purple color. He begins to think it's MegaMan or Blackberry trying to communicate with him. Swordy can tell that Lan isn't ready to capture it, and begins to provoke him into doing so by poking him with its sword. Lan tries to get Swordy to stop, but it keep poking him, now going for his head. Pretty soon Lan gets annoyed and swipes at the virus, to which it shows excitement. Swordy shows signs it wants to fight Lan by holding out its sword to him. Maddy hands Lan a small pipe, telling him to fight the virus and catch it.

Lan has little choice and takes the pipe. He stands up holding it with two hands, and the virus mimics him. Both charge at each other and swing their weapons coming into a deadlock. Neither appear to move out of place until both jump back. Lan runs at it and swings the pipe, Swordy dodges and pokes Lan's back. Lan swings around and slashes at the virus, but stops before coming into contact with its head. Swordy looks at Lan, nodding to him in defeat. It puts its sword away as Lan grabs its red "horn", and the virus's eyes glow blue indicating it's been fully tamed.

Elsewhere in the city, Adamant Enigma lies on a mattress in a mattres store cringing in pain. Quirky Wave is unsure how to soothe his leader as Hardy Quake and Lax Nature appear, battle scars still all over their bodies. Hyena Zap keeps an eye out for Lan and the others using a data stream forcing a small screen to appear from it. He eventually spots them but something happens to him as soon as he sees them. His current eye color is yellow, aside from his original blue. Suddenly, memories start to flash through his mind reminding him that he's not evil. His eye color changes back to normal afterwards and he begins to wonder where he is. The data stream stops flowing and disappears, revealing a reflective piece of glass that Zap looks into seeing what he's become. He is a bipedal hyena of regular color, his clothing now an outfit like the Navis with a guitar image for his emblem, his hair is still the same, and he has claws instead of hands while he was given boots to suit his new look.

"I just don't get it Adamant Enigma..." Lax Nature starts, "...how can you have been inflicted with such pain?"

"It must be Wily's data...ngh, he must've planned ahead for something like this! He was indeed intelligent." Adamant Enigma replies.

"Do you think he fused himself with a strong virus?" Hardy Quake asks.

Adamant Enigma replies, "That's exactly what it is! But, if I use the Ultimate Truth correctly, I can eradicate it and use it for my own gain."

Quirky Wave asks, "How are you going to use it for yourself? I don't think you need to be any stronger."

"It's quite simple, really..." Adamant Enigma begins, "all I need to do is find a way to permanently eradicate Wily's data ffrom my system while neutralizing the virus. Then, I can take the virus and use it against those pathetic humans and turn them into their true animalistic form, just like I did with Count Zap...only they will be under my full control."

"NYAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You never cease to amaze me, Adamant Enigma! Oh this is going to be fun!" Quirky wave maniacly laughs.

Hearing this, Hyena Zap knows he needs to get away. However, he won't be able to pull it off now as the three incarnations decide to stand guard in case the group ever came by and saw an opportunity. He'd have to wait for the three to tire out so he can sneak away and tell the others. He looks at his emblem, seeing the giutar as his mark and places a claw over it. He misses playing his guitar for Blackberry, rememering how he'd put her to sleep playing it. He misses playing his guitar at randomn points where he'd get too excited about something. He starts to miss ElecMan as well, recounting all their adventures and misadventures, and especially when Blackberry entered their lives. He starts to think he could just attack now, but he'd end up against his type disadvantage, since electric navis fall to wood navis, and his type would have no effect on Hardy Quake. He could go after Quirky Wave, but he'd still be at a loss. Hyena Zap would have to wait for an opportunity to escape.

In Net City, the Navis get back to constructing the new base, having added another floor within the past couple hours. Blackberry is trying to help construct the next floor by collecting smaller pieces of the old Darkloid Base and stacking them to mark doorways. However, they continue to fall down whenever she stacks too many. Instead of this, KnightMan has her train against him in order to regain her attacks before the Ultimate Truth was ripped from her. The only attack she had gained before Airi Echo was Lolita Boomer, and right now she's struggling to relearn it. She is able to get a sphere to form in her hand but each time she throws it, it disappears similar to how MegaMan struggled to learn his first Program Advance. As this is going on, NumberMan and ShiningMan were sent to look at and reserve furniture for the base. Serious Nimbus and Glyde manage to get the Music Accessor to work giving everyone something to listen to. With everyone working on the base, other Navis started to take notice. SearchMan and ShadeMan team up as look-outs and spot a NetNavi that looks like a living chess piece; it is KingMan. Blackberry sees him and finds him intimidating, quickly hiding behind KnightMan. MegaMan comes out of the base and sees KingMan.

"Hey cool, KingMan you're here!" MegaMan says.

KingMan laughs and says, "Yes, it is I! And I see you're fairing well yourself, MegaMan."

"Kind of. We were going to celebrate our victory against Lax Nature and Quirky Wave, but decided trying to get the base done as soon as we can is more important." MegaMan replies.

KingMan looks at the base and says, "I see. It could use some better support."

KingMan then summons his chess pieces which quickly gains everyone's attention. Bass, Serenade, and ElecMan get out of the way as KingMan has his chess pieces fuse with the corners of the base, placing the knights in front and the rooks in back, actually giving the structure much better support. Serenade is greatly impressed with the idea, stating the base doesn't look like a midget form of the Leaning Tower of Piza. SearchMan explains what they're up to and asks KingMan to join.

KingMan thinks for a moment before answering, "I wouldn't mind joining you guys if it means I can get back at that evil NetNavi. Oh, but I do have someone I teamed up with the second we met up. Is it okay if he joins as well?"

"Sure, but who is he?" ElecMan asks.

KingMan whistles, and the large WhaleMan appears from around the corner. As he moves in, another surprise Navi shows up and it's ThunderMan. MegaMan is glad to see ThunderMan again, as the last time he saw him was when he was showing Blackberry around NetCity. Blackberry is completely scared of WhaleMan as he is the biggest NetNavi around. No longer feeling safe behind KnightMan, she dashes inside the base and hides behind the front desk.

"...Who was that?" KingMan asks.

"That was Blackberry. She's really timid when it comes to meeting Navis larger than her or any of us so she goes and hides. I'm actualy her creator, so she sees me as her dad." Serenade replies.

"Then that would mean she's afraid of WhaleMan here, correct?" ThunderMan asks.

ProtoMan replies, "Oh yeah. Just show her you're friendly and she'll warm up to you. She just started warming up to KnightMan."

"I could always have her ride on my back as I swim in the cyber ocean. Or would that be too much too fast?" WhaleMan asks.

"No, I think she'd appreciate it. Right now she's trying to relearn one of her attacks, and she's not having much luck." PlantMan replies.

"Hey guys, how is WhaleMan going to fit inside the base? You guys didn't make a door large enough for Navis his size." IceMan asks.

ShadeMan glares at the door and says, "I knew we were forgetting something."

Serenade says, "No we're not. I made a special entrance for large Navis like WhaleMan. If you go around to the back, you'll see the large passage way in the ground. All large Navis will be underground for now until I can figure out how to create an addition for them."

"That's okay, at least I'll be safe. I could probably help you create the addition too." WhaleMan says.

"In that case let's get started!" Serenade agrees.

As the two head to the back of the base, NovaMan shows KingMan inside as ThunderMan wants to talk with MegaMan. Blackberry pokes her head out from behind the desk, watching NovaMan and KingMan walk through the doors. Before she ducks back down, KingMan sees her and carefully approaches her. She stays in position as he stays on the other side of the desk, and creates her a smaller knight chess piece. Blackberry stands up and the piece is handed to her. KingMan tells her to keep it as he wants it to be a token of their friendship. Blackberry happily accepts the knight and quickly heads outside to show the others. KingMan then notices the inside, saying it needs pillars if the base plans on standing tall. He summons a bishop chess piece and has it merge with the interior, giving the base more support.

As the day presses on for the Navis, they complete three more floors with the help of the three new members. ElecMan decided to help Blackberry relearn Lolita Boomer by having her use his Electric Boomers against KnightMan. She continues to fail and becomes frustrated at the thought that she may not be able to relearn it. As everyone heads inside the base with the sun beginning to set, Bass looks over at his sister, seeing the frustration she's expressing. He looks over at Serenade and decides to ask him what's going on.

Bass starts, "Serenade, Blackberry's been trying to relearn her attack ever since we returned. Shouldn't she have relearned it by now?"

Serenade looks over at Blackberry and replies, "She will relearn it, but I think the problem is even with ElecMan helping her, she needs to learn other attacks first. Bass, I made her your sister. She has the ability to learn some of your attacks. She has yet to learn how to use her buster, correct? Get her to use it."

"...All this time and she's clueless about her buster? What the hell was going through your head when you were creating her?"

"I know, I know, it's the most basic weapon, and I didn't give her the ability to use it. But there's a reason I did that on purpose. She still needs to bond with you. She can learn your attacks despite the fact that they won't be dark like yours. ElecMan doesn't have a buster which explains why she hasn't figured out how to use hers."

"Yet she was with MegaMan and Lan."

"MegaMan isn't her brother. Go teach your sister, Bass; she'll start to understand how you work."

Serenade heads inside leaving Bass to make a decision. Bass looks down at his hands now knowing he can teach her his attcks, but starts to wonder if they will have a drawback or not be as powerful. Either way, he needs to teach Blackberry all he knows so she can start defending herself instead of sticking to the sidelines. As he goes to turn around, he is caught off guard by VideoMan standing behind him, and as a result freaks and falls onto his back. VideoMan looks down at him with an eyebrow raised (lack thereof) as Bass sits up supporting himself with one arm, and rubbing his head with the other.

Bass glares up at VideoMan and demands, "What the hell do you want?"

VideoMan replies placing his hands on his hips, "Well Mr. Attitude, I was only going to tell you that...ElecMan disappeared ith Blackberry before KnightMan's eyes."

Bass jumps up grabbing VideoMan's neck choking and shaking him while shouting, "WHAT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE DISAPPEARED WITH HER? REPLAY THE MOMENT! REPLAY IT!"

KnightMan calls, "Bass, stop choking him! They teleported off before I knew hat was happening!"

Bass drops VideoMan with the most shocked expression on his face. He exhales heavily as his left eye twitches and falls over fainting. KnightMan rushes back inside in a panic as VideoMan recovers. He then grabs onto Bass as he gets up and drags the powerful SoloNavi inside, laying him down on the desk. The others become worried as Bass's face has gone pale, almost white. NumberMan and ShingingMan return from reserving furniture for the base only to learn of Bass's horror. NumberMan bursts into laughter and ProtoMan bashes his head in.

Serenade sighs and says, "Dear me, he just doesn't know how not to have a heart attack, does he?"

"Apparently not. The question is where he took her." BurnerMan says.

PlantMan goes into a panic saying, "YO can solamente esperar el isn't planificando encendido haciendo que Penso el esta! [I can only hope he isn't planning on doing what I think he is!]"

"Will you quit it with the Spanish shit and speak English!" BurnerMan yells.

"Maybe No siento igual se. [Maybe I don't feel like it.]" PlantMan replies, sticking out his tongue.

MegaMan says, "Enough you two. This is pretty big. With NetCity as huge as it is, finding those two won't be easy. KnightMan, did ElecMan say where he was taking Blackberry?"

"He was whispering to her and blocked with his hands so I couldn't even read his lips. I have no idea where they went." KnightMan replies.

"In that case, those of us that can fly will search the city." ShadeMan says.

"Good idea. The rest of us will have to look on foot." Roll says.

VideoMan looks at the doors and says, "I don't think that's necassary..."

The others look over to where VideoMan is seeing Blackberry and ElecMan just outside. Bass starts to wake up, and his color instantly returns to normal. He wonders what everyone is looking at and looks towards the doors seeing Blackberry and ElecMan enter, each holding cyber ice cream cones, and Blackberry making a mess out of her face trying to lick the ice cream. Bass can't believe he had a panic attack over ElecMan taking Blackberry to get cyber ice cream. Some of the others start to laugh with Serenade laughing hysterically. The two look over confused.

ProtoMan says laughing, "Oh my God that's priceless! It's the best epic panic attack of the century!"

"...What happened?" ElecMan asks.

IceMan replies, "Bass had a panic attack and fainted when he found you two disappeared. And before we were about to send a search party, you two come waltzing in with cyber ice cream! This is too awesome!"

ElecMan burtsts into laughter while Blackberry facepalms shaking her head.

Blackberry says, "Nii-san, you need to learn to relax or you'll die someday. It's easier to get to the ice cream shop faster by teleporting."

"I think we should go back and get your brother a bucket of ice to cool himself with." ElecMan jokes.

"Or maybe next time tell someone WHERE YOU'RE TAKING HER!" Bass suddenly shouts as he fires a buster shot at ElecMan.

The shot actually hits the ice cream cone, deleting it instantly, instead of hitting ElecMan directly. ElecMan looks at his empty hand with a scared look, thinking he'd be the one getting hit. Bass tries to aim again, but Blackberry uses Ninja Smoke, throwing the smokeball in her brother's face, successfully knocking him over in a cloud of smoke.

ElecMan looks at Blackberry saying, "Your brother's an ass."

"We can share mine!" Blackberry says with sunny look.

"I think maybe having the disconnection was a good thing." MegaMan jokes.

"Why do you say that?" Roll asks.

"Can you imagine the look on Lan or Count Zap's face if this happened?" MegaMan replies.

"Oh I sure can. It's funny as hell!" WackoMan says laughing soon after.

Bass grumbles, "You all just suck."


	20. Gathering the Power

Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "[abc]"  
Language Translation: "abc [def]"

**NOTE FROM RYDRAKE:** I will warn you now, I am unaware of the events after the _Axess_ season, as _Stream, Beast, and Beast+_ never received an English adaption. I am also unable to find any episodes with English subs, so no flames or anything similar.

Chapter 20:  
Gathering the Power

Night has finally fallen upon DenTech City, the temperature rapidly dropping below freezing. Lan and his friends struggle to keep warm by huddling together with their Viruses. Adamant Enigma has finally gotten over the Wily Virus by merging said virus with his own data, further strengthening him. Quirky Wave, Lax Nature, and Hardy Quake go on to patrol DenTech City in order to locate Lan and the others. Hyena Zap was sent out as well, but is very reluctant to go look for his friends in fear of them being found. Instead, he is on top of a sky scraper looking down on the city. He is watching the water in the air freeze onto the surfaces around the city, turning everything to ice. He looks up seeing the worldwide Dimensional Area, knowing that other parts of the world are in an equal amount of trouble, but there is nothing he can do. He cannot teleport to the Net to warn the NetNavis. He starts to think about Blackberry and ElecMan, hoping they're safe. Suddenly, he hears a scream; he looks around frantically, soon seeing his friends being flushed out from hiding by Quirky Wave.

The Pirannah Navi charges at the group, but is quickly caught off guard by a new virus, an Anaconda2 Virus. This large yellow snake-like virus was tamed by Maddy, but it is left weakened from a previous battle before its capture. It didn't help when Yai made an immediate attempt by throwing a brick at it, causing the KilbyEX to take action. Quirky Wave recovers from the drop-tackle by the Anaconda2 Virus and uses a Double Aqua Tower. Although not having a definite type, Swordy ats quickly slashing at the Aqua Towers, canceling them both. Anaconda2 charges at Quirky Wave mouth agape, but it is surprised when hit with an Ice Ball. Quirky Wave had launched the ball from his mouth; it doesn't surprise the group that he has an Ice-based attack as he's a Water-Type Navi. Anaconda2 gets over being hit and goes for a long distance attack, zapping Quirky Wave with a Thunderbolt. The Pirannah Navi coughs up smoke after being scorched. He shakes it off and as Anaconda2 charges at him. He whacks the snake-virus back with his tail, and the virus returns to Maddy's PET having no energy to continue the fight. Swordy and Milko take the front lines knowing very well they may not win.

Just then, a lightning strike hits Quirky Wave, knocking him into the ground. The group looks at what it was, and find that they have been saved by Hyena Zap. Although they're happy to see him, they are shocked to see Quirky Wave get up. The Pirannah Navi now has a large slash wound on his side as the data floats beside him unable to hold together. He looks at Hyena Zap who stares right back at him, not showing any sign of fear.

"You...how could you attack an ally like that?" Quirky Wave shouts.

"[I'm not attacking an ally, I'm attacking the enemy. I'm not gonna let you touch those kids or my friends!]" Hyena Zap replies.

"...You still have your memories...no matter. I'LL END YOOOOOUUUUUU!" Quirky Wave shouts as he charges at Hyena Zap.

Hyena Zap holds out one hand and launches an Electric Blaze attack, shocking Quirky Wave to the point of deletion. Quirky Wave's data disappears, and one more threat is taken down. Lan and co. cheer before as they approach Hyena Zap.

"Wow Count Zap, that was incredible! It looks like you have ElecMan's attacks!" Lan says.

"[His PET is fused with me, so it shouldn't be surprising I can use his attacks. But I can't stay here long, and neither can you. The others will learn of-]" Hyena Zap tries to say before Adamant Enigma appears behind him.

Adamant Enigma growls, "So, you were never on my side, were you, Zap?"

"[Why should I join you? You're the one who's putting everyone's lives at risks, including our NetNavis!]" Hyena Zap shouts.

Adamant Enigma grabs Hyena Zap's head and lifts him up saying, "You pathetic fool. DIE!"

The cloaked Navi stabs Hyena Zap in the chest, and the PET detaches from Count Zap's body. The Deletion sequence takes place, and Count Zap disappears leaving his PET behind. The group is frozen in fear; Adamant Enigma had just killed their friend. Adamant Enigma looks at the group and eyes Lan. As he goes to reach for Lan, everyone sees what's going to happen, but only one acts quickly and shoves Lan out of the way. In a blinding flash of light being unable to resist, Lan looks up and sees a pink and grey Hourglass Dolphin Navi in Adamant Enigma's clutches.

Dex exclaims, "On ho, he's got Maylu!"

Adamant Enigma is not sure what to make of this as Dolphin Maylu slips out of his claws and he says, "...Such bravery and courage to save your friend. But how long will your bond hold up?"

"MAYLU! Grr you bastard! TURN HER BACK!" Lan shouts.

"Sorry, I can't reverse my own doing. You're lucky to have such a loyal friend, but it'll all be in vain." Adamant Enigma says.

"[I'll show you what'l be in vain! Scorching Roll Arrow!]" Maylu yells as she launches three flaming heart-shaped arrows from her tail.

Adamant Enigma dodges the attack and strikes back with an attack of his own: the Enigma Cannon. His arms transform into busters shaped like antelope skulls found in a savannah and fires rapidly at Dolphin Maylu. She swims around each hit, dodging them with her speed before she fires an Aqua Tower from her blowhole. Adamant Enigma evades the attack, but is stunned when he is hit by the Milko Virus, being thrusted into the side of a building. He stands nand looks at the determined Dolphin Maylu and Milko Virus.

"I see...you're able to resist my influence due to the pathetic human emotion called 'love'. Feh, it'l die sooner or later." Adamant Enigma says before teleporting away.

"Wow...Maylu has both Water _and_ Fire attacks?" Yai asks.

"[I guess so. That just means we'll be ready for anything now. And I don't even feel the cold anymore.]" Dolphin Maylu replies.

"Hold on, Adamant Enigma mumbled that the only reason why Maylu's fully resisting his influence is because of love. Does that mean...?" Mr. Match asks as everyone turns to Lan.

"Why are you all staring at me like that?" Lan asks, completely clueless.

"For crying on loud, Lan, Maylu's in love with you, moron." Chaud says, facepalming and shaking his head.

After a few seconds of hesitation, Lan replies in a typical manner, "Aw man, gross!"

Dolphin Maylu slaps him with her tail yelling, "[YOU JERK!]"

Yahoot says, "Boys at his age aren't interested in girls; they're more interested in other things like sports."

"I remember being like that when I was young. I was always oblivious when a girl would develop a crush for me." Mr. Match says.

"Oh really? What came of it?" Maddy asks.

"Usually me commenting that they're gross and they'd get upset." Mr. Match replies as he retrieves Count Zap's PET.

In NetCity, Blackberry is suddenly wide awake. She has made her way onto the 5th floor and is sitting there while looking up at the sky. She has a strong feeling that something has happened to one of the NetOps and she can't rest. Then, an odd yellow data stream passes overhead and disappears into a rift. Blackberry looks on, thinking it may have been one of the NetOps...quite possibly Count Zap.

Morning finally arrives. Four more NetNavis have decided to join the base, one of them being AquaMan. As everyone prepares to add on another floor, Blackberry walks up to MegaMan, who is talking with NumberMan, and taps his shoulder. He turns around seeing the upset expression on her face.

"What's the matter, Blackberry? You look upset." MegaMan says.

She replies, "Last night, I saw a yelloe data stream zoom by...I think it may have been Zappy..."

"What? Blackberry, that's impossible. Count Zap's a human, not a NetNavi." NumberMan says.

"Hold on NumberMan, something could be up." MegaMan says, Serenade walking over having heard Blackberry.

"Blackberry," Serenade starts, "what do you mean when you saw a yellow data stream?"

"Huh? It flew overhead last night. I saw it disappear into a portal or something...it felt like it was Zappy..." Blackberry replies.

Serenade becomes serious as he says, "Blackberry, I hate to be blunt, but chances are it may have been Count Zap."

"What?" MegaMan and NumberMan ask.

"I told you guys before, I know Adamant Enigma. He has abilities that WWW would die for if they were still together. One of them that I witnessed is he can turn humans into Animalistic NetNavis." Serenade replies.

Blackberry asks, "Then that means, Zappy was deleted?"

"...I'm afraid so." Serenade answers, placing a hand on Blackberry's head.

Unable to handle the horrible truth, Blackberry burries her face in Serenade's chest crying her eyes out. MegaMan lowers his head knowing Lan is in even more danger, clenching his fist to the thought of Lan being turned into an animal-based NetNavi. However, he isn't going to let this get in the way of the only goal: restore communication between NetCity and the world, and delete Adamant Enigma. He picks himself up with determination shining in his eyes. He puts his hand on Blackberry's shoulder and she looks at him.

"Don't worry, Blackberry. When we finally take down Adamant Enigma, things will return to normal. I've got a good feeling that Count Zap is okay." MegaMan says before glancing up at Serenade.

"I'm sure he's fine. Since he isn't a NetNavi, his data will probably be circulating around the Net keeping out of the way." Serenade says.

"...You're right! As soon as we take down that bastard of a Navi, everything will be restored! Let's hury up and build this base!" Blackberry says, having calmed down now fully determined.

"That's the spirit! C'mon, let's go find KnightMan so you can learn to fight like us." MegaMan says, taking her hand.

Serenade watches as MegaMan takes Blackberry outside. He starts to think, "{I'm really hoping Count Zap will be fine. I did make a failsafe to that ability so that innocent data finds its way to the SecretNet...but if Count Zap couldn't find his way...he may be lost forever.}"

Once outside, Blackberry immediatly gets back into training, but this time Bass is coaching her. He begins by teaching her how to use her busters. She looks at her arms seeing the inactive busters. Bass shows her how to use it by showing her that she can transform her hand into the charger used to fire. Upon seeing him do this, Blackberry transforms her arm into a white-colored buster with gold edges. She then takes aim at KnightMan having to hold her arm in place to steady her shot. KnightMan prepares to block with his wrecking ball as Blackberry takes aim and fires. The shot bounces off of KnightMan's wrecking ball. Blackberry becomes excited that she learned how to use her Buster as Bass tells her that it can have variations. Blackberry says that she's going to call it the Berry Buster before accidentally firing it into the lobby just as ShiningMan tries to exit, and it hits ShadeMan in the back.

Blackberry becomes scared as Bass stands stunned that she unintentionally hit something. ShadeMan turns around and looks out the door thinking Bass fired at him, but he points at Blackberry. ShadeMan walks outside and looks at Blackberry, seeing she's found her buster. He begins to laugh commenting on the decent power of her shot. He reassures her that he isn't mad by petting her and then flies up to the 5th floor to help. Blackberry stands dumbfounded and Bass snaps her out of her confusion. The next thing he decides to do is teach her to use her buster effectively. Throughout the morning, Bass teaches her how to shoot rapidly without losing control, charge shots, and how to use both busters at once. All was going well until she tried to use both busters. Since Blackberry couldn't steady herself, she loses control and fires two shots at a small building diagonally across the road...and levels it. Thinking she's in trouble, she regains her hands and runs inside the base. Luckily for her, that particular building had been shut down even before the forced jack-in.

When Bass heads inside to get his sister, he finds her hiding behind the front desk again with ProtoMan pointing. He walks over to get her only to be tackled with a scared Blackberry; a spider-like virus had hid itself underneath the desk. Bass gets Blackberry off him and tells her to delete the virus using her buster. She tries to bargain for him to delete it because she's afraid of it, but ProtoMan says that being a NetNavi means fighting the things one is afraid of. Having no choice, Blackberry looks at the virus, transforms her arm into her buster and fires. The virus is deleted and Blackberry runs back outside feeling like she has one on her. Bass sighs heavily.

"Training her is gona be like trying to negotiate with other companies: impossible." ProtoMan says.

"Tell me about it. I've been training her all morning how to use her buster correctly, and she levels a small building." Bass says, leaning against a wall.

"I saw that. That was kinda cool."

"She needs to learn not to panic. The second she can stop panicking is the second she learns to fight."

"Don't forget though, she's your polar opposite for a reason. I think maybe if you understand how she feels, you'll be able to train her efectively."

"...I never thought to hear you say that."

"Shit happens when your NetOp stops seeing you as mere data."

"Ah. Well, I better show her another attack of mine."

In DenTech, Lan and his group return to DenTech Academy to check in with Mr. Famous. They find him in the computer room with Higsby, and to their surprise, Commander Beef, Black Rose, and Mysteriyu. They too have successfully caught themselves viruses, all of them being the wyvern dragon virus; Commander Beef has one with a Fire Element, Black Rose with a Wood Element, and Mysteriyu with an Electric Element. Higsby has not found himself a virus yet as he has been busy with Mr. Famous trying to re-establish communication with the NetNavis, and so far they have had no luck. Lan shares what's been going on with them, revealing that Count Zap and Wily have both been deleted by Adamant Enigma, Count Zap having deleted Quirky Wave, and showing that Maylu is an Hourglass Dolphin NetNavi.

Commander Beef stands as he says that he and his team have been working feverishly to locate Adamant Enigma before having to immediatly sit back down and hold his right leg. Black Rose confesses that at one point they were attacked by Lax Nature before catching their viruses, and that the Bull Navi had broken Commander Beef's leg. It inspired them to chase down the wyvern dragon viruses so that he can be carried until his leg heals. Chaud tells them that they gained only two more viruses: Swordy and Anaconda2, which is still recovering. Mr. Famous tells them to stay at the academy and warm up as Ms. Mari has befriended a Fire Element Virus that was willing to keep the heating system in check, and that a lot of viruses have taken shelter in the basement due to it being warm. They all agree to stay, but Mr. Famous tells Maylu to stay with him for a little while so he can analyze her and se if he can create something to reverse the transformation. Lan tells Mr. Famous to take good care of her. He agrees and says he'll let them know when something comes up.

As the day carries on, Lan and co. try to come up with ways to safely obtain more viruses without getting caught by Lax Nature, Hardy Quake, or Adamant Enigma himself. They discuss on how to try and get away, but they can't come up with anything good for Adamant Enigma; he can stretch his arms, has blinding speed, and is just overall powerful. Soon they find themselves talking about Count Zap, how Yahoot, Maddy, and Mr. Match want to avenge him. Chaud tells them it's a bad idea as the viruses aren't like NetNavis; they can't be personalized, customized, or anything. This causes Lan to look at his PET again, seeing the Swordy Virus has made itself at home. He begins to think if this is a battle they can win, knowing the fact that Adamant Enigma can turn a NetOp into an animal-based NetNavi.

Meanwhile, in the UnderNet, Adamant Enigma looks at the data streams flowing through the area. Hardy Quake and Lax Nature report to him saying they have done their deeds for the day. Adamant Enigma informs them that Count Zap had deleted Quirky Wave, and that he himself deleted Count Zap and transformed Maylu, though she resisted his influence. The two look at each other knowing they're the only incarnations left besides the rebellious Serious Nimbus.

"Boys, today will mark a new day for us..." Adamant Enigma starts.

"Um, it-it does?" Hardy Quake asks.

"Yes..." Adamant Enigma replies ripping off his cloak, "...today we will begin our reign of terror! We shall hunt down all NetOps and all weak NetNavis and destroy them!"

Lax Nature becomes stricken with fear upon seeing Adamant Enigma's true form saying, "...Holy shit! Sir, you're the Legendary Wendigo? That would explain Quirky Wave's insatiable hunger, and why you're targeting Lan Hikari!"

"The f*cks a Wendigo?" Hardy Quake asks, not affected by their leader's appearance.

"You fool!" Lax Nature shouts, "A Wendigo is a creature that mostly exist within North America. The Wendigo is an evil creature, often appearing in times of great famine or used in battled between Indian Shamans. They're known as cannibalistic cryptids that hunt down human flesh or posses humans and turn them into Wendigos. Once a Wendigo spots you, your fate is sealed! They will tirelessly hunt you down and kill you, almost like Komodo Dragons only without poisoning the victim. Everything makes sense now..."

Adamant Enigma's body is exactly like that of a true Wendigo. The fur is a tawny-brown color, the eyes big like an owl's and yellow, the face of a deer along with a set on antlers and sharp teeth, an emaciated body to the point of bones protruding from the skin, the long clawed arms, the single-toed hooves, and a small wolf-like tail. An emblem appears on his chest and has the image of a skull and crossbones. Every Virus in that area teleports away afraid of Adamant Enigma's true self.


	21. Adamant Enigma

Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "[abc]"  
Language Translation: "abc [def]"

**NOTE FROM RYDRAKE:** I will warn you now, I am unaware of the events after the _Axess_ season, as _Stream, Beast, and Beast+_ never received an English adaption. I am also unable to find any episodes with English subs, so no flames or anything similar.

Chapter 21:  
Adamant Enigma

Hardy Quake and Lax Nature are left stunned by Adamant Enigma revealing his true form. The Ultimate Truth Program soon becomes a part of his body finally becoming corrupted and transforming into an emblem on his chest. As it does so, an image begins to form and it's that of an indian headress. Hardy Quake wants to approach his master, but Lax Nature stops him becoming very wary of Adamant Enigma.

That is, until Lax Nature speaks up, "Um, sir, you are just data for the most part like the rest of us, correct?"

"What kind of question is that, you fool? Of course I'm not all data." Adamant Enigma replies.

Hardy Quake freaks, "You're not _all_ data? Then what are you?"

"You're looking right at me, you little worm. I'm the real deal. Serenade, Bass, and I were the only earliest developed NetNavis. However, I'm not a pure NetNavi, not anymore. As my description will tell you, I'm a cannibalistic spirit. That's how I existed for the longest time, possessing weak humans an forcing them to eat their allies. I loved turning the weak into human Wendigos; always a delight." Adamant Enigma replies.

"If that's true, then why are you here?" Lax Nature asks.

Adamant Enigma explains, "Wendigos suffer from insatiable hunger. We're never satisfied with the amount we eat, hence our emaciated appearance. We can never fil out stomachs to the point of bursting like others can do. Where I lived, humans would travel up and become lost, having no clue of looking for a way out. But eventualy, humans became scarce. I couldn't bare at the thought of not being able to find a single human to feast on. So, I came to Japan to rival the Kappa. That stupid creature barely took notice to my existance. So, I started to devour the humans of Japan. However, I was cornered by a random spirit...a Baku."

"Baku? You mean a dream-eating chimera spirit?" Hardy Quake asks.

Lax Nature questions, "Now how do you know what a Baku is, but not a Wendigo?"

"Enough. This particular Baku had been eating the dreams of those connected with the victims I devoured, and it didn't like it one bit. So, Baku decided to entrap me in a dream cloud by spitting back all the nightmares it had eaten. From there, I became a wandering cloud of horror, until I came upon SciLab. They were still in the process of creating PharaohMan, so I decided to enter the cyberworld, escaping my prison. However, I didn't expect to be identified as a virus and trapped for the longest time. While trapped, I began ploting my revenge, suffering from all the hunger pains that shot through my body. And that day came when Wily found me in his computer. I was set free from my entrapment, and I only grew stronger each time you guys were deleted. And then came the Ultimate Truth Program. Being in the Net for that long gave me the ability to fight like a Net Navi. But I still crave the taste of human flesh. My desire to be free grows ever stronger." Adamant Enigma explains.

"Wow...I didn't think a Baku could do that..." Hardy Quake says.

"They're neutral as far as I know; they don't harm humans and they don't help humans. Every spirit has abilities not known to humans. My kind has been forgotten. The more popular cryptids are those pesky Hellhounds; Bigfoot isn't a spirit so he doesn't count." Adamant Enigma says.

Lax Nature asks, "If you crave human flesh so much, why didn't you just eat Count Zap or those kids?"

"Because my Navi form keeps me from doing such a thing. I can only transform humans. The sooner I figure out the Ultimate Truth Program, the sooner I'll be able to taste human flesh again. I miss it so badly...men are tough and packed with the most meat...women are nice and tender...kids are soft and so easy to chew and break into pieces...oh do I miss it. I miss breaking open their skulls and sucking out their brains...so juicy..." Adamant Enigma says, soon losing himself in memories.

"Okay, you just fell into the uber gross category." Hardy Quake says.

Adamant Enigma looks at Hardy Quake, but doesn't say a word. Instead, he slowly approaches the Bear Navi. Hardy Quake isn't sure what to do, but soon tries to run. This proves pointless as Adamant Enigma traps him with colored blocks; this is his Rubix Rollout. The colorful blocks constantly change color, making Hardy Quake feel lightheaded so he can't move. Just then, Adamant Enigma rips off the Bear Navi's arm. As Hardy Quake screams in pain, Adamant Enigma quickly devours the arm. Not satisfied, he latches onto Hardy Quake's head with his teeth, biting it in half. Hardy Quake collapses, unable to go through the deletion sequence like the other incarnations have. This is all due to Rubix Rollout; allowing Adamant Enigma to devour his incarnation while Lax Nature watches in horror. After a few moments, Adamant Enigma has fully devoured Hardy Quake, his stomach growling for more. He looks at Lax Nature.

In DenTech Academy, Lan and the others try to regroup and think about what to do now that Maylu's been transformed into an Hourglass Dolphin. She is still with Mr. Famous being analyzed and Higsby trying to find a way to reverse the effect. Lan is no longer contributing, staring at his PET screen ignoring Swordy. Chaud is bothered by the fact that he can't come up with a good strategy to combat Adamant Enigma, saying it'd be a lot easier if they had their Navis. Yahoot brings up that he never saw an emblem in Adamant Enigma's chest, so how could the Wendigo Navi be deleted? The group becomes quiet, having no clue how to defend themselves against Adamant Enigma except for to run. Suddenly, KilbyEX reacts to something, unable to identify it. The door to the classroom opens, and to their surprise it is Raika, followed by a Jelly and Spidy Virus.

"What the? Raika?" Lan asks.

"Lan, good to see you're still alive. I see things here are just as bad." Raika says.

"How'd you get here?" Chaud asks.

"Viruses are not just here in Japan. I captured these two as soon as they appeared. I used the Jelly Virus to get get me here, seeing as how any form of flying has been put out of operation." Raika answers.

"You must've been filled in about the situation we're in. Any idea on how to combat Adamant Enigma?" Lan asks.

"I've got some ideas, but you guys will need many viruses first. I already have five." Raika says, revealing his PET containing a Mettaur3EX, Hellody (a red Mellod Virus), and CirCrusEX Viruses.

"How on Earth did you get five?" Yai yells.

"I ambushed them. By the way, charging at viruses, leaping on them, and lassoing them don't work." Raika answers.

"Can you help us get more viruses then? We really need to save out NetNavis." Dex asks.

"I can, but you all need to follow my lead, understand?" Raika replies.

Maddy stands up agreeing, "I'll do anything to get WackoMan back!"

Mr. Match agrees, "As long as I stand, I'll never let my fire burn out! For TorchMan!"

Chaud agrees, "I'll have to start thinking more like ProtoMan."

Yai agrees, "If it'll help me get Glyde back, then so be it!"

Yahoot smiles agreeing, "All this newborn confidence is contagious! I'll do anything for MagicMan!"

Lan hesitates for a moment before getting serious again, "I may not be able to stick to plans like MegaMan does, but I know I need to save him and Blackberry! He'd do the same for me!"

Raika then drops a bomb, "Blackberry? You mean that Bass Twin? You best forget about her. She's not worth risking your lives for."

"What do you mean? Blackberry's our friend!" Dex questions.

"See my Spidy Virus? I've raised it to be able to hack into anything, even being able to find data streams of deleted information or NetNavis. It has discovered that Blackberry is nothing more than a failsafe for Bass and the Net. She was created by a NetNavi called Serenade, and she is still the prime target of Adamant Enigma. Her Ultimate Truth Program has been forcfully ripped away from her, and now it has fully fused itself with Adamant Enigma. In turn, Blackberry is a threat." Raika explains.

Lan walks up to Raika, looks him dead in the eye and says, "You know what, you prick? You've had this one coming for a long time!" and punches Raika in the face, knocking him down. "Don't you dare say Blackberry's the threat. She's an innocent victim, and oh do I mean innocent! If she was indeed a threat, MegaMan would've deleted her by now. Our NetNavis are trapped in the Net because of Adamant Enigma...NOT BECAUSE OF OUR FRIEND!"

"I bet you if SearchMan found her and thought she was a threat, she would've been deleted. There's only one problem: ProtoMan and MegaMan, and everyone else stands in his way." Chaud says.

"...You all see her as an ally? Hmph, you better hope she stays that way." Raia says standing up. "In that case, I won't say anymore. Instead, prepare to leave in 30 minutes; I'll help you obtain more viruses before nightfall." and he promptly walks away.

"He's just a glutton for punishment, ain't he?" Mr. Match asks, having witnessed the rage in Lan's eyes.

Lan closes the door saying, "He's always had such an attitude problem. SearchMan would at least hesitate."

In NetCity, Blackberry became worm out from trying to learn one of Bass's other moves: DarkArm Blade. She has been able to form a grey-colored blade looking similar to the edge of Serenade's raiments, but she can't keep the shape and each time she swings, the blade vanishes and she falls to the ground. Bass had tried to get her to do it again and again, but she quickly became drained of energy. He decides she should rest for a while, and this gives ElecMan the opportunity to ask Blackberry out again. She happily agrees to go with him, and tries to notify her brother so he doesn't have another panic attack like before. They find him in the back of the base helping the others design a roof and emergency exits. Blackberry runs up to him and asks if it's okay to go out with ElecMan. Bass agrees and watches the two leave, but quickly thinks twice. Serenade tells him that he needs to let Blackberry spend time with ElecMan and not push herself training. Although Bass agrees, he is worried about her safety.

ElecMan takes Blackberry to the Cyber Beach where ShadeMan was found. Blackberry doesn't feel weird about and happily jumps into the water glad to have a chance to cool off. ElecMan follows, jumping in after her and quickly starting a splash war. Pretty soon Blackberry dives under, swimming below the surface and exploring the shallows. ElecMan follows her seeing her excitement of meeting a friendly fish virus. It swims away and Blackberry surfaces. She looks around finding ElecMan hasn't surfaced yet, but soon gets her answer as he surfaces from underneath her, getting her to sit on his shoulders. ElecMan soon loses his balance with the next wave and they fall in, both coming back up unharmed.

As the afternoon turns into evening, ElecMan takes Blackberry all over NetCity, showing her the arcades, other shopping centers, and an amusement park. This becomes a bad thing as Bass becomes increasingly worried that he hasn't heard from her. MegaMan tries to tell him that she's in good hands, but Bass takes it the wrong way and forces MegaMan away just by losing control of his aura. Bass then tries to meditate, thinking if he can take his mind off things, he'll calm down. It fails miserably and he decides to go loking for them. Serious Nimbus stops Bass from leaving and offers to go look for them. Reluctantly Bass agrees and Serious Nimbus takes off. Roll appears next to Bass telling him that Blackberry being with ElecMan is a good thing as it'll increase Blackberry's chances of creating a new program that'll hopefully delete Adamant Enigma.

"That's what I'm afraid of. What if her bond with him isn't strong and her having a child takes even longer? I don't wanna rush her into having a kid...it doesn't feel right." Bass says.

"If Blackberry felt uncomfortable, she would've said something. Don't forget, she's known ElecMan the longest, and he really does care for her." Roll says.

"In human terms, sleeping together after a month is normal." MegaMan says.

"But having a child after a month? I feel like we're running a friggin' puppy mill operation!" Bass yells.

"Bass, calm down." Serenade calls from the doorway.

Bass looks over at him and growls, "Why should I? Isn't it normal for me to worry?"

Serenade replies, "But you're worrying yourself so badly you could delete yourself. I've watched those two closely ever since Blackberry was forced out of the Bug Frag Mass. I don't fear their bond being weak. If those two decide to do 'the naughty', then fine, let them. I've seen humans get so bad that they do those one night stands, and they're complete strangers half the time. Be glad that ElecMan has taken things this slowly."

"...I suppose you're right..." Bass says sounding reluctant.

"Bass, we're not pushing those two to have a child. If we were, thise base would not be getting built, and Blackberry would've fled by now. Let nature run its course, and something beautiful will occur." Serenade says.

Meanwhile in the amusement park, Blackberry and ElecMan are relaxing in an empty tent. Serious Nimbus is able to sense ElecMan and finds the tent, spotting a small hole in the top. He peeks through the hole catching a quick glimps of ElecMan kissing Blackberry on the cheek. She rests her head on his chest as he holds her close. After a few moments of silence, ElecMan starts to speak.

"Blackberry..." he starts, "...you know I really care deeply for you, right?"

"Of course I do." she replies, "I'd like to take it further though."

"Do you really feel that way? Or is the pressure of knowing that we can't defeat Adamant Enigma?"

"No, I really do feel that way. If I didn't, we wouldn't be here right now. Do you feel the same?"

"Only if you think you want to."

"I don't think ElecMan...I know. I'm just..."

"Just what?"

"Not sure how it works, exactly."

"...You serious?"

"Sadly, yes. I know the others wouldn't dare tell me if I asked."

"..."

"I was hoping one day, you'd show me."

"...I'll show you, but only if you feel you're truly ready. I won't do it if you're not."

"I'm only nervous. Does that mean I can't be shown how it's done?"

"Everyone's nervous. I'm nervous myself. Let's take it slow. If you start to feel awkward or...if I start hurting you...you need to let me know, Blackberry."

"I will..."

Serious Nimbus pulls away, knowing what's about to happen. He starts to think how he's going to tell Bass, or if he even should. He then gets an evil thought, grinning about it, and flies back to the base. He arrives within seconds flying at his fastest, and lands in front of the base. MegaMan and Roll are outside with SearchMan and ShadeMan, and Bass comes out asking what's going on. Serious Nimbus only grins before he starts to laugh.

The Eagle Navi replies keeping the look, "Oh things are gettin' hot and heavy!"

"WHAT?" Bass explodes.

"Wait, please tell me that's a joke!" SearchMan begs, almost blushing at the thought.

"Pahahahaha...ahhh, the serious part's the joke. No, he's taking things nice and slow. Blackberry's fine." Serious Nimbus says before laughing again sying, "Oh but you should've seen the look on your face, Bass! I wish I had a camera."

Bass growls, his aura quickly forming, "I'll turn you into a F*CKING TURKEY DINNEEEERRRRRR! RAAAAGGHHH!"

Serious Nimbus makes a chicken noise before taking to the air, being chased by Bass. The others look up watching the Eagle Navi dodging every attack Bass throws, except the Vanishing World attack, and drops to the ground.

ShadeMan says as a sweatdrop appears, "Bass is never going to live any of this down, is he?"

"Probably not." SearchMan says.

"I feel like I've seen this somewhere before in a movie..." MegaMan thinks, breaking the forth wall.

Elsewhere, in another part of the Net, Adamant Enigma wipes drool off his mouth. He is holding a horn from the head of Lax Nature. The Wendigo Navi crushes it, deleting it. His stomach growls once more, not satisfied with what he had just devoured. The mighty Navi looks around, scaring away all viruses in the area. He knows that eating a virus will not satisfy him, not that it would matter. He soon catches the scent of human flesh...which should be impossible. Soon, his emblem glows and projects a hologram. It's of DenTech Academy. He can pick up the scents of Lan and the others. He smiles, having a feeling the Ultimate Truth Program is granting him the ability to eat human flesh once again. If he can begin to devour humans again and not just NetNavis, he can throw the world into complete chaos by eating everyone one by one. He can eliminate the human race in one fell swoop, allowing for only NetNavis to exist. Adamant Enigma begins to chuckle, then breaks out into a sinister maniacle laughter.

The next morning in NetCity's amusement park, ElecMan is found sleeping in his boxers. Blackberry is nowhere near him or in the park. He wakes up stretching and turns to greet Blackberry, but sees she's not around. He goes into a panic pressing his emblem making his outfit reform, and dashes out the tent. He sees another NetNavi and asks him if he's seen Blackberry. The Navi replies he hasn't seen her, and ElecMan loses his mind. He runs off heading for the base, but stops midway thinking if he tells the others that Blackberry disappeared, Bass will delete him. He decides to search for her himself, dashing down another street calling her name.

However, she hasn't gone very far. In an alleyway, Blackberry lies on the ground holding onto an enlarged belly. She appears to be in pain, having taken off her helmet to try and keep cool. A Navi walks by not noticing at first until Blackberry lets out a moan. The Navi returns and sees her trying to fight the pain. He approaches her and she looks, finding it's BubbleMan.

"Uhh, are you okay, kid?" BubbleMan asks.

Blackberry replies, pausing to take breaths, "BubbleMan...? I...I need your...your help...!"

"What's wrong? You're stomach's really swo-" "GAAAAAAAGGHHHHH!"

"Ack! Oh my god, what's going on?"

"I'm not sure! But I'm in a lot of pain!"

"Wait a sec...a belly that big can only mean...YOU'RE PREGNANT?"

"AAAAAAAAGGGHHHH! Help me, BubbleMan!"

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Something! Anything!"

"I don't...! Oh maaaaannnnn! Uh...{Okay, think BubbleMan! You're dealing with a pregnant Navi! Birth works...THINK! Ah, now I remember!} Blackberry, listen to me!"

"What? AAAAARRRGGHHHH!"

"Okay, if I remember correctly, birth works when this swollen belly detaches from you. That's all that's going on. You need to breathe!"

"I'm scared!"

"It's okay, I'm right here. Um, how long have you been like this?"

"Since I woke up two hours ago..."

"TWO HOURS?"

At the base, no one is working on it. Serenade has sensed something is up with Blackberry and is telling the others. He thinks everyone should split up into their own groups and look for her; he is going to search for her with Bass to keep his aura in check. ShadeMan, Serious Nimbus, and Glyde will search from the air. MegaMan, Roll, and KnightMan have formed their group. ProtoMan, KingMan, and SearchMan have begun searching the city. WackoMan, MagicMan, and GutsMan have formed their group, not allowing for TorchMan to follow them. All too soon, ElecMan comes running towards them out of breath. Bass blocks him immeditaly keeping him from getting any closer, demanding to know what's going on. ElecMan hesitates but finally confesses that when he woke up, Blackberry wasn't there. Bass tries to attack, but is held back by ProtoMan and Serenade.

While all the arguing has begun, BurnerMan, NovaMan, PlantMan, and VideoMan slip away conducting their own search for Blackberry. PlantMan uses his flowers to track her, and within a minute the flowers create a path leading to Blackberry. BurnerMan takes the lead while the others follow, the flowers leading them through tight alleys and crowded streets. They soon find the end of the flowers leading to another alleyway. Before they can progress, they hear crying. They carefully approach the alleyway where they find Blackberry holding something and BubbleMan fainted off to the side. He soon wakes up and freaks at the sight of BurnerMan. Bubbleman flees saying they can thank him later, and the guys flood in, VideoMan recording the event from here. Blackberry looks up, sees the guys and smiles.

"Blackberry? Are you okay?" NovaMan asks.

"I am now. I was in a lot of pain before this little bundle of joy." Blackberry replies, her voice sounding weak.

"Bundle of joy?" BurnerMan asks.


	22. The New Program

Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "[abc]"  
Language Translation: "abc [def]"

**NOTE FROM RYDRAKE:** I will warn you now, I am unaware of the events after the _Axess_ season, as _Stream, Beast, and Beast+_ never received an English adaption. I am also unable to find any episodes with English subs, so no flames or anything similar.

Chapter 22:  
The New Program

PlantMan moves over to Blackberry and places a hand next to her on the ground, summoning up a red flower with vines for legs. She argues saying she can walk but proves herself wrong when she finds she has no strength left to move. VideoMan continues to record everything trying to get a closer look at the newborn. Blackberry instantly uses her Holy Aura -a move of hers not forgotten- to keep him at arm's length.

"Whoa kid, c'mon, you know who I am!" VideoMan says holding his arms up in surrender.

"Oh I know you, but I don't want you to see what my child looks like yet. I want to reveal it to everyone." Blackberry replies.

"Augh, you're so mean! Either way I'm recording it." VideoMan says.

PlantMan takes hold of a lone vine from the flower and pulls it along like a wagon walking with the others. The flower moves using four vines like feet. Up above, Serious Nimbus, ShadeMan, and Glyde spot them. They turn around and head back to base to tell the others. When the fliers return to the base, they find that not only has the rest of ProtoMan's team returned (seeing as how ProtoMan came back to help hold back Bass), but that no other group left; they became preocupied trying to get Bass and ElecMan calm. Moments later, BurnerMan, NovaMan, VideoMan, and PlantMan return with Blackberry. Everyone else is relieved that she is okay. ElecMan and Bass rush over to her quickly becoming confused at what she is holding.

The others look over as Blackberry hands the newborn to ElecMan saying with a smile, "You're turn to hold him, Daddy."

Shocked, ElecMan asks, "D...'Daddy'?"

He looks down at his newborn son who opens his eyes and smiles at him. The newborn looks like ElecMan in a lot of ways, mostly due to most of the outfit resembling his; the helmet, the shoulder-cape thing, and having two small electric generators. The rest of his outfit is similar to Blackberry's having the cyan stripes going from the emblem to the feet. His face does not have the same color as ElecMan, more rather Blackberry's without the magenta stripes, but he has ElecMan's eye shape. The color of his eyes, ironically enough, are a light purple. Bass is having trouble believing he's now an uncle, while Serenade says that he feels older than he should.

"He's so adorable, you guys! Congrats!" Roll says, unable to handle the newborn's cuteness.

Still in shock, ElecMan asks, "Did you name him yet?"

"Not yet. I was thinking of naming him after a musical term like my brother is." Blackberry answers.

"Wait, are you saying you wann name him after me?" Bass asks.

Blackberry replies, "In a way, yes."

NovaMan gets excited saying, "Oh, I know! I know! Why don't you call him Treble?"

"Not gonna happen considering MegaMan killed it already." Bass growls, referring to Gospel.

"A musical term, huh? What about Allegro?" ProtoMan asks, being smart.

Bass stares at him saying, "I swear to God I'm gonna kill you for mentioning that pile of junk."

"What about Clavier? It sounds like a strong name to me." MagicMan suggests.

ElecMan responds slowly snapping out of his shock, "Nah, I don't like that one."

"Oh, I got a good one, hehehee! Why not Cadenza?" WackoMan suggests.

"Oh, I like the sound of that one." Blackberry says.

"So do I. And it looks like he likes it too!" ElecMan agrees, lifting his son into the air.

"Then there you have it. Welcome baby Cadenza to the group, everyone!" Serenade says.

Everyone starts to surround Blackberry and ElecMan saying hi to Cadenza. Roll is soon allowed to hold him and Cadenza appears to like her, trying to reach for her. TorchMan grabs a hold out of nowhere, unimpressed that the tiny newborn is the new program. Cadenza shows his strong dislike of TorchMan by using a variant of Blackberry's Lolita Boomer in his face. TorchMan drops Cadenza, but he is quickly caught by WackoMan.

MegaMan looks at Cadenza and says, "Well, now we know where Blackberry's Lolita Boomer went..."

"I wonder if he knows any of my attacks?" ElecMan asks.

Serenade replies, "The only move he might know is a basic zap. Cadenza won't be learning any stronger moves until he grows."

"How long will that be?" Serious Nimbus asks.

"I have absolutely no idea!" Serenade happily replies.

Meanwhile in DenTech City somewhere near the subway, Raika has been able to help Lan and the others obtain more viruses. Lan now has (besides Swordy) Mettaur2, Gaia+, Spikey, and MagTect Viruses. Chaud now controls (besides KilbyEX) WeatherEX, CirKill, an Electric Dragon, and Swordy Viruses. Yai was finally successful in catching her viruses with Raika's help and now commands Billy, Kilby, Shrimpy, Walla, and Cloudy Viruses. Dex has captured strong viruses including VulGear, GaiaMegaEX, Gloomer, Dharma, WindBox3 Viruses. Maddy ended up catching the Anaconda and Anaconda 3 Viruses, as wel as adding an Aqua Dragon Virus and Canodumb3 Viruses. Mr. Match has captured mostly Fire-Based Viruses including ValGear, Whomper, a Fire Dragon, HeatJelly, and Elemperor Viruses. And Yahoot was able to add into his PET ArachyEX, VacuumFan3, WindBox2, LarkEX, and Swordy2. Everyone felt a lot more confident thinking they now have a much greater chance of deleting Adamant Enigma once and for all.

That is until Raika's Spidy Virus picks up a disturbing data stream passing by. It notifies Raika and the rest of his Viruses become uneasy. Lan's Swordy starts to talk to Spidy about the data stream and soon becomes frearful of the findings. The others start to catch on.

"Raika, what's going on? All the viruses are getting fidgety." Mady asks.

"It's not good. The data stream Spidy picked up is really information being passed on by other viruses from one part of the net to the other. The info it just received is grim." Raika answers.

Mr. Match demands, "Tell us what's going on. Either way we lok at this situation, it's grim."

Raika replies, "The data stream revealed that Adamant Enigma has gotten more powerful...by eating his remaining two incarnations."

"What? He ate them?" Yai freaks.

"I'm afraid so. But that's not all Spidy picked up." Raika says.

Yahoot receives info from his ArachyEX from the same data stream and he says with a cloud of fear hanging over his head, "My suspicions were correct..."

"What suspicions?" Lan asks.

Yahoot takes a deep breath and answers trying to stay calm, "Remember when Adamant Enigma appeared before us and I was afraid?"

"Y-yeah..." Lan answers.

Yahoot continues, "Well, I suspected that Adamant Enigma was really a Legendary Cryptid called a Wendigo. I just found out that I was right."

"Legendary Cryptid? Wendigo? Okay, you lost me. Speak English!" Dex says.

Yahoot goes on, "A cryptid are creatures like Loch Ness and Bigfoot. A Wendigo is a malevolent cannibalstic spirit that is said to appear in times of great famine. However, when one becomes horribly lost and have no source of fod, the last resort is to cannibalize. The Wendigo can possess its victim to eat other humans, even if there is a food source nearby, like wild animals such as squirrels for example. It can appear to its victims even in their dreams. There is a legit condition called Wendigo Psychosis where the victim begins to have intense cravings for human flesh and fear of turning into a cannibal. My question is, why is it here when its main territory is in the Appalachian Mountains in America?"

Raika cuts in, "I can answer that. The data stream revealed that Adamant Enigma's food source was running low so he chose to come here. At one point he wanted to rival Kappa, but it didn't take note to his existance so he started devouring the humans here. What he didn't count on was another one of Japan's Spirits, the Baku, to appear and imprison him in a dream cloud full of the nightmares and dreams of relatives to those he killed. Eventually he came upon SciLab and entered the computer, but was identified as a virus and trapped. It wasn't until he and Wily met that he was freed. Also...by defeating his incarnations, he only got stronger as the data went right back to him."

"So does that mean his original purpose is returning?" Chaud sks.

"I'm afraid so...if that's the case, we don't stand a chance at all. The viruses we worked hard to gain will be of no use." Yahoot replies.

The others can't believe it. Lan hangs his head now thinking that all this hard work in order to save the NetNavis was in vain. Everyone starts to get the same thoughts, now kowing that returning Maylu to normal is pointless. With depressing thoughts racing through their heads, they begin to discuss what they wanted to do and haven't done. Raika tries to keep those thoughts from getting to him and tries to think of how they could all possibly evade the inevitable. He finds moments later that nothing can be done to avoid being eaten by Adamant Enigma, not to mention the fact he has taken the Ultimate Truth Program. Everyone starts to feel helpless, sitting on the cold frozen ground, talking about their dreams.

Suddenly, their PETs start to beep, indicating a cal is coming through. They all answers and it's Mr. Famous and Higsby on the other end.

"Guys, whatever you do, don't come back here!" Mr. Famous warns.

"What? Why not? What's going on?" Maddy asks.

"Adamant Enigma found us! He-He's eating everyone in sight!" Higsby replies in a panic.

"What? Where's Maylu? Is she okay?" Lan demands.

"She's with us. She's been lucky enough to fight him off for this long." Mr. Famous replies.

"What about Commander Beef, Black Rose, and Mysteriyu?" Mr. Match asks.

"...Adamant Enigma got to them...and their viruses." Mr. Famous answers.

"Mr. Famous! Higsby! He's breaking through the door!" Maylu yells.

"Shit! This is it, give it all you've got, Maylu!" Higsby says.

Lan yells, "Wait, no! You guys!"

A door goes flying across the screen and soon all the PETs get a static screen before the transmission is cut and returns to normal. Lan desperatly tries to regain contact with them, but it's no use. Him and his group have no choice but to accept the fate that everyone at the academy is now dead. They all go silent, but not before Yai, Dex, and Lan start to mourn the loss of their friend. The tears they shed melt the ice away as they hit the ground.

Chaud speaks up trying his hardest not to become upset, "Guys, we need to do what we can for their sake, even if it means we join them. We need to stand and fight, otherwise we're just a buffet line."

Lan shouts knowing the end is near, "Dammit Chaud no matter what we do we'll only get killed! What's the point in trying to fight something that can't die? Adamant Enigma is a f*cking spirit! Nothing we have will kill him! We're done! That's it! Game over! We couldn't even save our NetNavis!" He hangs his head before continuing, "They're as good as deleted now..."

Out of nowhere, Chaud grabs Lan and shoves him against a street light yelling, "So is that it, Lan? You're giving up? I know you better than that! You're the last person I'd expect to just throw in the towel like that without finding some sort of loophole! You never gave up in either of your Net Battles even against ProtoMan and I in the N1, so why should this be any different?"

"Whoa, Chaud..." Yai tries to say before Dex places a hand on her shoulder and shakes his head.

"But there is no loophole..." Lan says.

Chaud uses an arm to place against Lan's throat shouting, "Bullshit, Lan! No matter what you and MegaMan ran into, you guys always found a way out of any situation! Did you give up when it looked hopeless when PharoahMan took over? No! Did you give up when MegaMan went BugStyle? No! You didn't even give up when the Darkloids appeared or when LaserMan took over! You found a way to fix the problem and save everyone! How dare you give up now!"

Lan isn't sure what to say. Chaud lets him down and walks over to the other side of the street. Lan looks at everyone else as they all have stunned expressions. He looks over at Chaud who is looking at his Viruses' stats on his PET. The words Chaud spoke start to reside in his head, but he can't find a response. Chaid is right though; Lan never gave up no matter how bad a situation got, even when MegaMan was deleted. He only fell into depression and started doing things on his own before an opportunity to bring MegaMan back arose.

Yai tries to say, unsure of what to feel at this point, "C'mon you guys...we have no time for this... Oh, what would Glyde do?"

"He'd be the one trying to break up the fight and try to get those two to reason with each other." Dex replies, looking at his PET, "Heh, and GutsMan would be cowering in the corner."

"I'm not giving up..." Lan speaks.

"What?" Chaud asks, unable to hear.

Lan puts on a serious face and repeats, "I said I'm not giving up!"

"Are you sure about that? You still look doubtful." Raika asks as Chaud rejoins the group.

"I'm sure I just...I just don't know what to really do at this point." Lan replies.

"Listen kid, I know how it feels to lose somebody. Believe me, I do, especially when I nearly lost TorchMan. But you cant just sit around and do nothing and think this isn't real. Right now you need to stand up to that prick of a Navi and show him that no matter what you're gonna take him out one way or another." Mr. Match says.

"Indeed. Lan, you've shown a lot more guts than any other Net Battler I've come across. You need to start thinking more like MegaMan and what he would do." Yahoot agrees.

"We've all been trying to do that when things went from bad to worse. I bet you any amount of money WackoMan would be getting so serious that he'd be coming up with his own ways of trying to take out Adamant Enigma." Maddy says.

Lan says, "In that case, I'll start thinking more like MegaMan."

"Good. Now, let's try and gain some distance; with Adamant Enigma out in the open, we need to devise a good enough plan to throw him off." Raika says.

"In that case, we'll help!" someone says, the voice staticy and distorted.

The group looks to find a bunch of different Viruses with determined looks.

A Mettaur approaches the group and says, "We may not be strong like NetNavis, but the least we can do is cover you. We don't like the fact that Adamant Enigma has been terrorizing us and eating us alive. Not to mention, if he gets rid of you humans, who's electrical products are we going to infect? We'd rather be deleted with dignity than deleted with humilation."

"We need all the help we can get. Okay everyone, let's move out!" Raika agrees.

In NetCity, Serenade can sense that Adamant Enigma is on the move, and is no longer inside the Net. Dark clouds start to develop, darkening NetCity's computerized skies. Blackberry starts to panic as well as Cadenza and both Bass and ElecMan try to get them to calm down. Serious Nimbus starts to show fear being able to sense his former master's sheer power. ShadeMan tries once again to try and teleport to DenTech City, but finds he's still unable to connect. MegaMan notices something when ShadeMan tries one more time to teleport; he sees a small portal begin to form. After ShadeMan is forced to the ground again, MegaMan has him try it one more time, this tme, however, without trying to go through the portal. ShadeMan does as asked, and MegaMan fires a charged Buster Shot into it. The portal amazingly stays open, but only for a few short seconds before closing up.

The others quickly notice. That's when suddenly Roll gets a shooting pain through her heart and falls to her knees. MegaMan asks if she's okay and Roll answers that she feels like something bad happened. All at once a pink-colored broken data stream passes overhead and disappears. Roll can only assume that data stream could've been Maylu and starts to cry, MegaMan trying to console her. Serious Nimbus finally snaps by throwing a Ninja Feather into the ground.

Serious Nimbus shouts, "That f*cking tears it! Adamant Enigma's gone too far! I refuse to let him take another innocent human's life!"

This only makes Cadenza cry harder and ElecMan cannot calm him. Blackberry tries to calm her son, but nothing seems to work. Serenade looks at Cadenza and sees his emblem is glowing.

Serenade thinks, "{The program inside him...it's activating!}"


	23. A Sign of Hope

Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "[abc]"  
Language Translation: "abc [def]"

**NOTE FROM RYDRAKE:** I will warn you now, I am unaware of the events after the _Axess_ season, as _Stream, Beast, and Beast+_ never received an English adaption. I am also unable to find any episodes with English subs, so no flames or anything similar.

Chapter 23:  
A Sign of Hope

Cadenza's emblem stops glowing as well as crying. Blackberry looks at him confused asking if it was the program. Megaman starts to get an idea, thinking that if it is the program maybe it's connected to getting them to DenTech. He tells ShadeMan to open another portal but Serenade quickly stops them from trying anything. He looks over at Cadenza who is oblivious to the obvious danger reaching up to Blackberry. Bass looks at Serenade knowing something's up. Serious Nimbus heads inside the base to the Music Accessor to see if he can find a news station. He finds one when a loud scream causes him freak out and fall to the ground. Everyone else hears it and rushes inside to hear the news report.

A Newscaster says in a panic, "It's really horrible! There's some kind of deer-like creature eating evetuone in town! It looks like a NetNavi, but there's no way it-oh no...it's spotted me! I-it's coming this way! No! No, get away from me! No wait, please!" A tearing sound is heard followed by snaps and cracks, "GYAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Serious Nimbus gets up and shuts the Music Accessor off. They all have a feeling who just killed the newscaster. Serenade clenches both fists and bears his teeth. He suddenly ounches the wall, the others looking at him seeing the hole he made.

"Damn him! He's become his old self again..." Serenade says.

SearchMan asks, "It's Adamant Enigma, isn't it?"

Serenade nods and KingMan says, "In that case, everyone is in danger."

"Worse..." Serenade says, "...Adamant Enigma is the most vile creature to ever exist. His true identity...is a Wendigo."

MagicMan goes into a panic gaining a cold sweat asking, "A...Wendigo? Please tell me that's a really mean joke!"

Blackberry asks, "Wait, what's a Wendigo?"

"A vile cryptid that only exist among humans. It's said to be cannibalistic, feasting on human flesh. However, it suffers from chronic hunger, never becoming full, so it looks like it's in the most advanced stages of starvation. Stages so advanced that its guts actually show through, bones can be seen...it is the most disgusting creature to ever exist. If Adamant Enigma is indeed a creature so vile, then that means he's now consuming everyone in DenTech City!" MagicMan replies.

"What? Oh no, Maddy! We need to find a way to reunite with our NetOps before it's too late!" WackoMan says.

TorchMan says, "It's already too late."

"No it isn't." MegaMan says standing strong, "It's never too late! All we need to do is figure out a way to keep the portal that ShadeMan creates open long enough for us to get through. If that can be accomplished, we can save DenTech. We can save the world!"

"But how are we gonna do that? I saw you attempt it earlier and it only stayed open for a few seconds!" NovaMan asks.

ShadeMan says, "That's just the start. We're all going to have to contribute as much as we can."

"...But what if it fails?" NumberMan asks.

"It won't fail. Let's hurry and get to work on it. The fate of the world is in our hands now." MegaMan says.

"In that case, " Serenade starts, "I'll create a portal myself. This way we can double our chances of getting into the Dimensional Area."

"What are we waiting for? Let's do this!" ShiningMan says.

The Navis rush outside quickly finding SharkMan, SkullMan, and WoodMan. They have horrified looks on their faces having a strong feeling their NetOps are gone. MegaMan walks over to them explaining their new plan to reach DenTech. Although SkullMan and WoodMan agree to help, SharkMan remains doubtful not knowing how to handle the situation. Having gained enough strength, Blackberry stands up and walks over to them showing them a new symbol of hope: Cadenza. SharkMan soon regains his determination to save everyone agreeing to help. With that, ShadeMan and Serenade form portals by trying to teleport to DenTech with everyone unleashing all they have to keep them open.

Meanwhile in DenTech City, Adamant Enigma is quickly moving through the city devouring bits and pieces of everyone to the point of death, not bothering to finish them. Through it all he is trying to locate Lan and his friends but so far have been unable to lock onto them; he's far too busy relieving the part of him that has ben kept dorment for so long. Lan and the others are actually on the constant move, making sure to make a run for it whenever Adamant Enigma is sensed by their PETs. Each one is riding a Spikey Virus so they can get to safety faster in a short amount of time. The Viruses following them put up their own posts each time the NetOps stop moving so this way they can hope to gradually weaken Adamant Ennigma even if the attack has no effect. They want to fight for their home in the Net even if it means they'll become deleted.

The last virus to set up post is a Cloudy Virus. Lan and co. move on from there doing their best to keep out of range. Raika takes the lead having located a subway that hasn't been completely caved in. They head inside and find the tunnel leading out of the city are not burried, but there is a new problem. Water possibly from the ocean has found its way in and has completely flooded the tracks, making leaving DenTech impossible. The Spikeys are not of the Water Element and cannot provide a way to get out. The train here won't work with all this water and even the inside is covered in a thin layer of water. With no way out they exit the subway. Lan takes the lead of the group leading everyone to a train station just outside of town.

Their PETs suddenly go off sensing Adamant Enigma. He's approaching faster than before and the Spikeys try to run faster desperate to get away. All too soon, the Spikeys are surrounded in a static field, everyone being thrown from the backs of the viruses. This is the Wendigo Navi's Puzzling Pause attack, stopping the target in its place. He swoops in from behind the Spikeys and deletes them with just a swing of his massive claws. He looks at Lan and the others, blood from multpile victims dripping from mouth. They all look at him with fear showing in their eyes having no other way of escaping. Desperate and without a plan, everyone summons all their viruses. Adamant Enigma laughs maniacally mad at this.

"Pahahahahahahaaa! Do you really think those puny viruses can harm me? The last wave hardly scratched me. You're all but doomed." Adamant Enigma taunts.

Chaud says, "That may be so, but we refuse to go down without a fight."

Adamant Enigma wastes no time in using Puzzling Pause on the NetOps, freezing them in place. The Viruses rush in and pile on top of him using all they've got to try and weaken him. He easily throws them off, the force deleting half of them. The rest go in for the attack, but Adamant Enigma pulls out his Enigma cannon and fires at the remaining viruses, creating a cloud of smoke. Thinking he's gotten through the last of their defenses he looks over at everyone. He quickly uses Rubix Rollout, the colors of the rubix cube blinding them all. Their screams of pain bring him joy, recounting the days when he used to be 100% Wendigo. He loves hearing the screams of pain and terror.

He walks over to the group and places his hand on Mr. Match's head. His PET is pulled from his pockets with the Wendigo Navi lifting it up himself with his Telekinesis. He places it on Mr. Match's forehead and it begins to glow. The group knows what this is: Mr. Match begins to turn into his true animalistic self. With that being the case, Lan and Chaud use all their strength to move their hands into their Battle Chip pouches. Hoping their NetNavis will come to save them, they pull out their SynchroChips and place them in their PETs before Puzzling Pause takes control of them again. After a couple minutes, Mr. Match is morphed into a bipedal Crocodile. Although ironic as crocodiles reside in water, it fits the bill as his fighting style can get quite vicious, and they have bad tempers all around. He is released from Puzzling Pause and Rubix Rollout and collapses to the ground.

Next he walks over to Yai. He does the same thing with her and within seconds she is turned into a bipedal House Cat. She is released and collapses to the ground. Third is Maddy. Adamant Enigma finds he's having trouble turning her into a Navi as she's using nothing but pure will to try and avoid it. However, after minutes of willpower she becomes exhausted and soon becomes a Badger. Adamane Enigma releases her and she collapses. He moves over to Dex who tries to fight against it with his will and proves tougher than Maddy. Both him and Adamant Enigma fight against each other.

Back in NetCity, the Navis can't seem to get the portals to stay open at all. They've all warn themselves out with each attempt. Suddenly, the yellow stripes on MegaMan's helmet glows as well as the white ring on ProtoMan's helmet. They blink on and off catching the attention of the other Navis. Blackberry moves over and pokes MegaMan's helmet wondering why it's blinking. Cadenza's emblem starts to glow itself, blinking on and off. ElecMan, who is holding Cadenza, watches with curiosity poking his son's emblem. Cadenza doesn't seem to notice at all as he tries to grab his father's finger. Serenade walks over to ElecMan and asks to hold him. ElecMan hands him over and Serenade places a raiment over the the baby's head. The raiment glows.

"The program is beginning to awaken!" Serenade announces.

ElecMan asks, "Wait, his program's waking up?"

Serenade replies, "Yes. I think it might have something to do with what's going on with MegaMan and ProtoMan."

"Maybe there's a signal being sent from the PET!" Blackberry says.

"It has to be, " says MegaMan, "this only happens when Lan's re-established a connection with me."

"In that case we have to try again to open a portal. If they've put in some command and it's just barely getting through, then that means we have a small chance of re-establishing communication with the humans." ShadeMan says.

Bass interjects, "But we've tried everything to keep the damn things open. Neither of us will be able to get through fast enough."

SharkMan says, "Maybe we're not in the right spot. You know how with other wireless devices that humans use often need to be in a certain spot to have a good signal? Maybe we need to try another area."

WackoMan says, "Hmm, he might be right. This whole time we've been trying to get through while in the city. If we try a more open area, we could be able to keep the portals open longer."

BurnerMan says, "Hey it's worth a shot. Why don't we try the plaza in the middle of town?"

"Okay, let's go then. We've got no time to waste." Serenade agrees.

Blackberry walks over to Serenade and is given Cadenza. The Navis quickly rush over to the center of town via teleportation. Once there, they find all the other Navis trying the same thing to try and reach their NetOps. All are in a panic sensing something isn't right. ShadeMan and Serenade head right to the center of the plaza with the others rushing over. They create two new portals with everyone firing charged shots at the portals attempting to keep them open. This seems to work as the portals don't close right away. MegaMan and ProtoMan look at each other and nod before charging at the portals, however, a cry from Blackberry stops them. Everyone discovers Blackberry is no longer holding Cadenza and no one else is holding him. The portals suddenly close revealing to still have a limit. Blackberry is thrown into a full panic as she franticaly looks around for her son with ElecMan and Bass chasing after her.

When Blackberry trips herself falling face first into the ground, she flips herself over pushing herself up. Bass and ElecMan see her emblem is glowing but not blinking. Bass picks her up having no clue what is going on now. Serenade has an idea looking up at the spot where his portal was. ShadeMan gets the message that Cadenza must've been transported.

In DenTech, Adamant Enigma has finished turning Lan and hid friends into their true animalistic forms. Yahoot has become a Tawny Owl, Dex a Gorilla, and Raika a Spectacled Bear. He is still struggling turning Lan and Chaud into their animalistic forms as their wills are much stronger. They have been released from both Puzzling Pause and Rubix Rollout, but are now screaming in pain from fighting against Adamant Enigma's influence. The Wendigo Navi watches them sitting down, struggling against his influence and tiring out. Suddenly, a portal opens above him with Cadenza falling through right into his lap. The portal closes and Adamant Enigma picks up Cadenza looking at him confused.

"Hold on..." he says, "You're a NetNavi. What the hell are you dong here?"

Cadenza's emblem glows brightly and Adamant Enigma starts to feel something. That's when he's suddenly blasted back several miles from the group. Baby Cadenza falls but it is broken by Raika catching him. Lan and Chaud soon become exhausted and are losing their battle. Chaud is first to give in turning into a White Tiger. Lan tries to fight it off a little longer but can't hold on any longer and gives in, turning into a brown Wolf. Everyone has a piece of something saved from their human forms: Raika has his hat, Yahoot his face paint, Mr. Match his belt and boots, Maddy her hair, Dex his shorts, Yai her dress, Chaud his vest, and Lan his headband. They are all able to retain their actual heights and all appear to be bipedal. Raika holds Cadenza up in the air getting a look at him. He suddenly realizes this isn't a random Navi just by looking at him.

The rest start to wake up seeing Cadenza and quickly realizing he isn't an ordinary Navi. Chaud and Lan wake up, spot Cadenza, and immediatly think he has to belong to ElecMan.

"There's no way... Did Blackberry...?" Lan tries to ask unable to find the right words.

Mr. Match laughs saying, "Hahaha, Navis can really breed! That means ElecMan and Blackberry finaly slept together! Hahahaha!"

"...But that fast?" Yai asks.

"Haha, Navis are much different compared to us. Anything is possible with them." Yahoot says.

"NANDATO!" they hear Adamant Enigma shout.

He comes flying back in with one powerful jump, slamming down in front of the group. Raika stands up still holding baby Cadenza, and the little one looks on unamused. Adamant Enigma shoots them all a nasty glare and they all look back at him angrily. He lets out a mighty roar scaring Cadenza making him cry. Having no clue how to calm down a baby, Raika immediatly hands the baby to Maddy. Cadenza only cries harder so she hands him over to Lan. He calms down almost immeditaly and looks back at the Wendigo Navi unamused.

"What's the matter, Adamant Enigma?" Maddy begins to taunt, "Surprised we're not evil cannibalistic pricks like you?"

Yai adds in to the taunt, "Aw, how sad. I think you've lost your touch."

Adamant Enigma growls, "Impossible! How are you not evil?"

Lan answers, "That's simple. You may be able to mess with our heads. You may be able to change our appearance. But there are two things you'll never change that you don't have that we humans do. You cannot change our hearts, and you cannot change our souls."

Chaud adds in, "The will to live becomes very strong when we're thrown into horrible situations such as this. Survival of the fittest doesn't apply to this as even the fittest person can die early. So when you combine heart, soul, and will together, you have something that cannot be broken."

Cadenza agrees with them by sticking out his tongue at Adamant Enigma. Lan laughs and comments, "Oh yeah, that's Blackberry right there."

"Ggggrrraaaaaaaagghhhhh! This is unacceptable! I'll delete you all!" Adamant Enigma shouts.

Baby Cadenza panics activating his ability again, thrusting Adamant Enigma back several miles. He huffs a few times before returning to crying. With the Wendigo Navi knocked back, the group decides now would be a good time to run. They soon find they can run much faster than the Spikey Viruses and quickly take advantage of this and run at full speed, easily placing distance between them and the Wendigo Navi.

Several miles away, Adamant Enigma rises from a pile of rubble that used to be a few parked cars. At first he is going to give chase, but instead he restrains himself and sits there. He gets a mental picture of Cadenza in his head.

"{So, the younger Bass Twin has given birth to a new program, huh? Ugh, she's done well then. It's reacted with the tainted Ultimate Truth Program. That means I can't get close with that brat around. I'll have to devise a plan so I can get rid of those humans once and for all.}" he thinks.

In NetCity, Blackberry has given up her search for Cadenza after Serenade has told the others he is with Lan. Although they're glad he's been found, they fear for his safety as Adamant Enigma can't be stopped. MegaMan and ProtoMan's helmets continue to blink sensing the command from the PET. Serenade and ShadeMan try to activate another portal, but nothing happens. Bass gets angered demanding to know why the portals aren't opening. Although Serenade thinks it could have something to do with Cadenza, he fears the portals may have another limitation to them. Desperate to get her baby back, Blackberry tries to activate her own portal, but nothing happens.

"This is more than a nightmare." ElecMan starts to say. "First the forced jack-in, then the possibility of Count Zap being killed, and now this."

"What are we gonna do, Niisan?" Blackberry asks looking up at her brother. "My first and only child is in the greatest danger!"

Bass replies, "For once, I'm not sure what to do. But, I don't doubt Lan. He'll do anything to keep Cadenza safe."

"Oh shiiiit!" says Numberman, "I just ran a scan on the portals, and it's second limitation is that it can only send one Navi through every five hours!"

MegaMan says, "Are you serious?"

ProtoMan says, "Well in that case we'll make it fit two. Serenade can set one up here, and ShadeMan can set up another one just a few feet away."

"Sounds like a plan then." MegaMan says. "{Hold on Lan...help is on the way. Keep yourself and Cadenza safe for another five hours.}"


	24. Pursuit of Hunger

Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "[abc]"  
Language Translation: "abc [def]"

**NOTE FROM RYDRAKE:** I will warn you now, I am unaware of the events after the _Axess_ season, as _Stream, Beast, and Beast+_ never received an English adaption. I am also unable to find any episodes with English subs, so no flames or anything similar.

Chapter 24:  
Pursuit of Hunger

"Do you think he'll find us here?" Yai asks a bit out of breath.

"So long as Cadenza doesn't make too much noise, we should be good for a while." Lan replies.

Maddy growls, "Did we really have to cover ourselves with dirt?"

Raika answers, "I told you if we cover ourselves with a different smell, it should fool Adamant Enigma long enough. He's made up of different animals, so his sense of smell must be the most sensative."

"Then don't you think we should find or make stink bombs just to really piss him off?" Mr. Match asks.

"Not unless you want him to delete you." Chaud says.

It is early afternoon; only two hours have gone by. Lan and the others including baby Cadenza are hiding deep underground in a subway that has the least amount of water flooding it. A virus had created a den for itself by making a hole in the wall in a tunnel, but it is no longer there. It is possible the virus was deleted and the den was never taken over. It even made a barricade for the water by strategically placing cement bricks (not blocks) and mud around the den so the water would stay out. The NetOps came upon it by chance and decided to hide in it. Two hours earlier, Raika came up with an age-old idea of having everyone rub themselves in dirt to try and mask their scent so Adamant Enigma won't find them. With the time that has passed, they begin to think the Wendigo Navi is having trouble either sensing them or sniffing them out.

Cadenza has been able to keep calm for the while even though his stomach lightly growls. The others can hear it but don't have anything to give him. Lan continues to hold him since he doesn't want to risk the baby freaking out should he be held by someone else. As of now, there is nothing any of them can do to pass the time expect thinking about how they can get in touch with their NetNavis. However, it would be impossible now as they're all now fused with their PETs. Yai thinks about how Glide is handling this, hoping he is doing what he does best by trying to keep calm and assess the situation. Dex wonders if GutsMan is fairing well at all as he isn't the greatest problem solver. Maddy tries to picture WackoMan figuring out how to escape the Net. Mr. Match can picture TorchMan setting Adamant Enigma ablaze the second he arrives in DenTech while Yahoot is hoping MagicMan is being the more mature one by not worrying. Raika starts to think of SearchMan is alright, hoping his NetNavi is looking for any kind of loophole. Chaud can tell ProtoMan is trying to figure out what to do knowing that Cadenza is here. All Lan can think about is MegaMan keeping everyone safe, as well as himself, despite the fact Cadenza managed to arrive. Baby Cadenza looks up at Lan as if concerned, able to just barely sense how Lan is feeling.

On the surface, Adamant Enigma walks through DenTech City trying to sense Lan and the others. He stops in the middle of an intersection knowing his search is becoming futile; he can't even pick up on their scents. He looks around watching humans and viruses alike run away in horror just from looking at him. His stomach growls loudly, telling him to eat something. The Wendigo Navi pays no mind to his hunger instead focusing on how he's going to separate Cadenza from Lan. If he can separate the newborn from the NetOps, he'll be able to delete them with ease. Deleting Cadenza, however, would take a great amount of effort at this rate. Just then, he hears something moving towards him. He turns around to look finding a familiar face. It was Maylu, still in her animalistic form. She has plenty of wounds and bruises, some data coming off her from the damage. Adamant Enigma is amazed she isn't deleted.

Maylu huffs heavily completely out of breath. She looks over seeing Adamant Enigma as he stares back. The look in her eyes go from tired to hopeless knowing she doesn't have the energy to face him again. He smirks evily getting an idea. The Wendigo Navi dashes towards her at amazing speed. Maylu dodges quickly and tries to run off going in the direction he jumped from. Adamant Enigma gives chase, laughing maniacally with his tongue hanging out knowing she'll have to stop to rest soon. Chasing her turns out to be a bad idea when she uses Aqua Tower along with Roll Arrow. First the tower hits him flinging him into the air, then the arrows pierce through his body easily pinning him to a building. As he tries to get free he watches as Maylu makes her quick escape, foiling his plan. At first the Wendigo Navi becomes enraged, but calms down. He knows Maylu must be looking for Lan and the others, which means she can lead him right to them. He grins at this, pulls the arrows out of his body, and quietly follows Maylu keeping a safe distance away.

As he follows her through the streets, he notices that every few minutes, she will stop and look around. What he is unable to realize is that her PET is fused with her; she can still pick up on his position should he get too close. That is exactly what's going on for every time he gets anxious and tries to close in, Maylu will stop to look. She knows for a fact she's being followed and reluctantly leads Adamant Enigma through tight alleyways in an attempt to lose him. Her idea doesn't fully work since he'll simply jump up onto a roof to continue his pursuit. She knows the only way out would be to put up a fight, but in her current condition she won't last very long against him. Pretty soon, Adamant Enigma grows impatient. While he is lead through another tight alleyway, he jumps up to a rooftop, runs ahead and jumps down right in front of Maylu blocking her from leaving the alleyway. He snarls bearing his teeth.

"Damn you humans!" he shouts, "You can adapt so fast when survival is the name of the game! I grow very tired of following you in circles!"

Maylu replies, "Tough shit, Adamant Enigma! I'm not going to lead you to Lan! I know once I find him you'll attack. How stupid do you think I am?"

"Well, humans aren't exactly the best thinkers when fear is a factor. But enou-" "-I'VE BEEN TRYING TO THINK LIKE ROLL THIS WHOLE TIME JUST TO AVOID YOU!"

"...Excuse me?"

"You heard me. You turned me into a NetNavi. Now I'm thinking like one. I'm not going to fall to you so easily if I can think like Roll."

"...So then...my first plan _is_ a failure. Okay then. YOU'LL JOIN ALL THE OTHERS...IN MY STOMACH!"

"You can forget that!"

Adamant Enigma attacks by swinging down his massive claws. Maylu quickly dodges before slapping him in the face with her tail. It forces him to spin around allowing her to escape again, but he quickly grabs onto the base of her tail, stopping her from getting away. She turns around and uses Fire Tower like a flamthrower, burning the Wendigo Navi. He doesn't let go, however, and pulls her close so that he is face-to-face with her. Before she tries again, he uses his free hand to keep her mouth closed. Maylu struggles to get free but realizes she can't. Adamant Enigma uses Puzzling Pause to keep her in place, letting go of her tail and mouth. He closes on looking down at her, and she looks up in horror knowing she can't escape. With the blink of an eye, he rips off her dorsal fin with his teeth alone.

Time starts to slowly pass. As Lan and the others continue to hide keeping Cadenza safe, in NetCity, the NetNavis begin to grow anxious. They want to get to DenTech as fast as possible in order to save everyone, but only one hour remains as the sun begins to set. Blackberry is having trouble coping with Cadenza no longer in her arms; she sits hugging her knees rocking back and forth in panic. ElecMan continues to try to keep her calm, but all attempts are in vain. Bass stands next to his sister staring up at the cyber sky ready to create a portal once five hours has passed. ProtoMan, MegaMan, GutsMan, Roll, Glyde, IceMan, and SearchMan all train against Serenade, MegaMan telling him to be as unpredictable as possible. Although Serenade was against wasting energy, Roll's plea for them to be ready to face Adamant Enigma was good enough to convince him. ShadeMan decided to jump into the mix to increase the difficulty.

NumberMan continues to calculate the chances of winning every time the rounds end. The chances vary from 1% to 40% to 3%, not ever touching 50%. He starts to worry if either of them can make a difference. That's when WackoMan, MagicMan, and TorchMan start training with Serenade. The others watch as NumberMan keeps getting low chances of them winning. BurnerMan soon announces that he, NovaMan, and PlantMan should train against each other. Serious Nimbus approches SharkMan, WoodMan, and SkullMan asking to train with them. Although SharkMan quickly apposes the idea Serious Nimbus brings up the point that he was created by Adamant Enigma, and therefore should provide the challenge needed. SharkMan thinks about it for a moment before he agrees. NumberMan goes nuts calculating everything to the point he finally faints, falling over onto his back. ShinigMan, WhaleMan, KingMan, and ThunderMan begin their own training session. All this soon catches Bass and ElecMan's attention, the two looking over at all the groups.

"Man, look at everyone. This is absolutely insane." ElecMan says in awe.

"...I shouldn't be worried, but NumberMan's calculations never reached 50%. 43% was the highst he got." Bass says.

"Ah please, like he can do anything. He's the weakest Navi we have." ElecMan says.

Bass looks at his sister saying, "We should be trying to train her some more. She needs to learn more of my attacks."

Blackberry quickly shouts in a rage, "I'm not doing a damn thing until I get Cadenza back! I wasn't in labor for two f*cking hours just for this to happen!"

Serenade responds shocked blocking an attack, "Whoa, Blackberry! Calm down, sweetie. There's no need to bite your brother's head off like that."

MegaMan stops attacking to say, "Blackberry, we all know this is really hard for you right now. But you need to be strong yourself. If you can't, you won't be able to save your son."

GutsMan says pounding his chest, "Come train with us!"

"I don't want to train!" Blackberry replies, "I just want Cadenza back. I have no clue what his program is supposed to do. How am I suposed to know he's safe? I just gave birth to him!"

"But babe, that's just it." ElecMan interjects, "You want to save our kid, right? Why not use this time to get just a little stronger so you can save him?"

Blackberry argues, "But what if all this training is for nothing? For the past four hours, all I can sense is Adamant Enigma. I don't know why I can, but it's scaring me. He just keeps getting stronger with each passing second; we'd need to train day and night with no breaks for two years just to match up to him. And even then everything would be in vain because he'd only be 100 times more stronger. Just what the hell can I do to save Cadenza? My only program...my only purpose for existing in the first place...was ripped right out of me. I'm nothing now."

Fully angered by her statement, Roll marches over to the upset Blackberry. She stands in front of her gaining her attention before saying, "Blackberry...what I'm about to do is not out of anger. This is your wake-up call."

Roll suddenly slaps Blackberry across the face sending her flying a couple feet away. The others that were training stop in their place having just witnessed the event. Bass and ElecMan stand stunned not sure how to react. Blackberry lies on the ground for a few good minutes before she pushes herself back up to a sitting position. She shakes off the shock before feeling her cheek. The lightest touch puts her in a great amount of pain. MegaMan gulps before taking a few steps back, now knowing he should never tick Roll off again. Blackberry looks at the still irritated Roll astonished asking why she slapped her.

"...Blackberry..." Roll says going from mad to sympathizing, "There's just something you don't understand. Your main purpose may have been to control your brother's powers should he lose control, but it isn't the one and only reason for your creation. Your other purpose isn't just to save the Net should it be destroyed in some way. You exist for a special reason, otherwise Serenade wouldn't have thought about creating you."

Serenade agrees, "She's right. Little one, I created you for the sole pourpose of wanting an heir."

"An...heir?" Blackberry asks.

"Yes." Serenade answers, "I know one day I'll be deleted. And I won't have anyone to protect not just the SecretNet, but the world from danger. I wanted a little one of my own. You being related to Bass is more of a bonus for you, so you'd have someone protecting you and caring for you. But now your fear is blinding you from this realization. You've met and bonded with mor Navis than I had anticipated. Heh, you even had a child with one. You have no clue how many goals you've met in just a short amount of time. I'm more proud of you than you can imagine, Blackberry."

"Wait a sec..." GutsMan interrupts, killing the mood, "Serenade, if you wanted a kid of your own, why didn't you just go out and find a girl? Guts guts."

BurnerMan beans him off the head yelling, "Because you have a speech impediment!"

WackoMan says to TorchMan, "Okay, you _know_ he wanted to say something else."

TorchMan replies breaking the fourth wall, "Yeah, but this is rated 'Teen'. Not 'Mature'."

"Hey wait a minute, I'm supposed to be the one breaking the fourth wall!" MegaMan whines.

Blackberry looks at Serenade rubbing her slightly swelled cheek. He looks back at her with a serious yet caring expression. She looks at everyone else before looking at hr brother and ElecMan. They all know that what Serenade said is true. She looks back at Serenade still confused.

She asks, "Why am I the heir though? I don't get it. Aren't there other Navis?"

"Unrelated to me." Serenade replies, "If I could trust Bass to not turn my SecretNet into another UnderNet, I'd allow him to rule it for me. I do know other Navis that exist there, but, they're not exactly trustworthy or reliable. Having an heir was the best solution, so I made you. And it's still the best decision I've made. I know if I should ever get deleted, I can leave it in your hands."

"...O-Otousan..." Blackberry says becoming emotional."

Bass brings her back to reality, "Come, Berry-chan. We've got a very limited amount of time. Let's get you trained."

She looks at him with new motivation, "Okay Niisan! But first...how do I get rid of the swelling?"

"And that's where otousan comes in." Serenade says taking hold of a raiment.

Meanwhile in DenTech, Adamant Enigma explores a barely flooded subway cayring a familiar item. His eyes glow in the darkness allowing him to see identical to a cat. He comes upon an oddly placed cement brink wall keeping out the water. Knowing Lan has got to be there he heads for it. Something pops out from the wall as if being tossed over. It is a simple mouse trying to look for food. The Wendigo Navi approaches the mouse looking at it unamused. The mouse sees him, freaks out, then runs away at full speed. Adamant Enigma returns his attention to the wall trying to look into it. It's too small for him to fit, but he doesn't care. He effortlessly rips the wall apart until baby Cadenza makes an appearance. The two lock eyes before Cadenza activates his program, thrusting Adamant Enigma deep into the opposite wall. Lan quickly grabs a hold of him dashing out of the den being followed by the others.

They dash at full speed through the tunnel while Adamant Enigma tries to dig his way out. Chaud takes the lead having an idea of where to go so long as the rest of the tunel isn't blocked. A few moments later, they realize they're trapped by finding a train all curled up into a ball, possibly by Lax Nature, blocking their only escape route. Thinking he might have new strength, Dex takes a shot at trying to move the train. He punches the train several times, barely making any progress through the metal mesh. Becoming desperate he thinks of how GutsMan would get through. Unknown to him, he activates the Gold Fist, easily punching an elephant-sized hole through the mesh. While Maddy tries to get through the hole first, she is quickly turned away from the blinding lights of Rubix Rollout; that meant the Wendigo Navi got free. Cadenza's emblem suddenly glows, raises his arms in the air, and starts to make sounds like he's singing (almost similar to _Manaphy_ from the Pokemon Movie). Rubix Rollout dims within seconds soon fading away.

The little song ends and Cadenza claps laughing knowing he did something good. The gang looks at him amazed. A loud boom sound can be heard. The gang rushes through the hole, only to be quickly trapped in Puzzling Pause. Although Lan is trapped, Cadenza is not, and looks as if he is in a bubble. He performs another song, canceling the attack in seconds. They try to run away again, but this time Adamant Enigma appears before them via teleportation. He glares nastily before being thrown back by Cadenza again. The Wendigo Navi only gets right back up before Chaud activates a LongSword, slashing downward making a deep cut wound within the enemy. However, the damage only recovers within seconds. The gang watches as Adamant Enigma's emblem pops right off his chest. The tainted Ultimate Truth Program floats out of the Navi's body, quickly imploding sending out a strong aura making Cadenza cry.

The aura surrounds Adamant Enigma, and within seconds his new form is finalized. He still holds his natural shape and form, only this time, he is no longer a NetNavi as his body looks more realistic than digital. Chaud tries attacking again, only for the Wendigo to catch the sword with ease. With a slight squeeze the LongSword is broken. Adamant Enigma punches Chaud and he goes flying into a wall, only his tail sticking out. Cadenza cries loudly to the point he's screaming. Adamant Enigma looks at himself, grinning happily that he's been restored to his true form. He laughs out like an insane man before looking over at the screaming baby. Lan turns his body so he's blocking Cadenza.

"Hahaha, you pitiful humans. That child can't protect you any longer. Although I still hold a program, I'm finally back to my old self...and guess what?" Adamant Enigma says holding up a blue vest, "You're all on the menu...just like your friend."

Lan gasps yelling, "No! MAYLU!"


	25. Hacking the Spirit

Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
Character Translation: "[abc]"  
Language Translation: "abc [def]"

**NOTE FROM RYDRAKE:** I will warn you now, I am unaware of the events after the _Axess_ season, as _Stream, Beast, and Beast+_ never received an English adaption. I am also unable to find any episodes with English subs, so no flames or anything similar.

Chapter 25:  
Hacking the Spirit

Adamant Enigma stands renewed to his old self. The Ultimate Truth Program is still fused with him, giving him extra power. He holds a blue vest that belonged to Maylu as a means of intimidating the rest of the NetOps; she had survived the initial attack before she met her demise. Cadenza wails loudly, tears streaming down his face, no longer wanting to be anywhere near the Wendigo Navi. Lan keeps his body turned trying to block Cadenza from Adamant Enigma. Chaud remains in the wall not moving a muscle; he has been knocked unconscious. Raika, Dex, Yai, Maddy, Mr. Match, and Yahoot are not sure how to approach the new danger as the Wendigo Navi lets go of the vest. It drops to the ground quickly converting into data that deletes itself. Adamant Enigma stares at the NetOps.

"So..." he speaks, "That child is completely useless to you. What do you plan on doing now?"

"I plan on keeping him far from your fugly ass!" Lan replies, raising a hand into the air.

Yai and Maddy look at him unimpressed with Yai saying, "Are you serious? _Fugly_?"

"Just shut up and follow me!" Lan growls as a Mini Boomer forms in his hand.

He throws the Mini Boomer at Adamant Enigma, the explosion creating a large dirt cloud combined with the dirt in the tunnel. Dex quickly heads over to Chaud and pulls him out of the wall before following the others. The smoke and dirt clear moments later, and Adamant Enigma finds the NetOps got away. Enraged he lets out a mighty and eerie roar that echoes throughout the subway tunnels. He then gives chase at full speed following the NetOps' scents.

In NetCity, Blackberry has been training hard with her brother and ElecMan, trying to learn new attacks. She has gained full control of her Berry Buster as well as relearning Lolita Boomer, but has been unable to learn Bass's Hell's Rolling and Dark Arm Blade attacks. Serenade quickly saw the problem reminding Bass that Blackberry is his polar opposite; she uses Light-based attacks instead of Darkness-based attacks. Knowing this, Bass tells his sister to concentrate any Light energy she has and form it into a sphere. Blackberry is able to do so, but only for a few seconds before they explode in her hands. MegaMan watches as he rests, finding it weird that the young Bass Twin cannot form a Light sphere in her hands, but can easily use Lolita Boomer, which is in the shape of a sphere and identicle to the Mini Boomer. ElecMan tries to teach her by using his Electric Boomer and placing it in her hands. To her it means it's time to play and she completely forgets about the training to play with the weapon.

Bass watches taken aback and unsure what to make of the situation. He then gets mad preparing his Dark Arm Blade, and quickly goes after ElecMan. However, ElecMan easily blocks the attack telling Bass to just sit back and watch. As Blackberry plays with the Electric Boomer, she unknowingly forms a mini Holy Aura around it. It comes and goes as she plays catch with it up until the hour finally passes. Bass finally beans ElecMan off the head while keeping a dark aura around his fist shouting that Blackberry didn't learn a thing.

NumberMan announces, "Everyone! Five Hours have finally passed! It's time to reopen the portals to DenTech!"

BurnerMan grins saying, "It's about time! How many portals are we gonna get now?"

"I'm hoping with the combined efforts of ShadeMan, Bass, and I, we can keep one portal open for a few seconds. Adamant Enigma's aura has gotten much stronger, not that I'm surprised. I will say now: whoever chooses to go, please, kep your guard up and be careful! We cannot risk a deletion unless it's Adamant Enigma's!" Serenade responds.

"Let's do this then. Our other goal is to find Cadenza and keep him safe." Bass agrees.

"Let's hurry. I want to be able to head to DenTech myself and lend my power." ShadeMan says.

Bass, ShadeMan, and Serenade gather in the middle of the park. Raising their hands in the air, they concentrate their power to open a large portal to DenTech City. ShadeMan quickly uses Noise Crush to keep the portal open wide longer. Knowing they're needed, MegaMan and ProtoMan jump into the portal. They dematerialize as soon as they enter being sent to DenTech. ShadeMan uses Noise Crush once more to make sure the portal stay open long enough for a third Navi to go through. Serious Nimbus takes the opportunity to fly into the portal, dematerializing into simple data. The portal starts to close as the three Navis try to hang on a little longer, the strain forcing them to shut their eyes. That's when they hear Roll call Blackberry's name, and the portal suddenly closes, forcing Bass, Serenade, and ShadeMan to the ground. Bass tries to ignore the strain as he looks around with his vision blurred.

"Blackberry! Tell me you're still here!" he calls out.

As Serenade and ShadeMan give in and faint, Bass continues to fight it trying to stand up. Roll rushes over to him telling him to lie down, but he refuses to listen. WackoMan summons a Blue WackoDoll having it use weak Aqua Tower. It does as commanded hitting Bass gently with the attack, but with him being weakened, the force of the attack is enough to knock him onto his back. His vision is still blurry as he weakly calls out his sister's name before he finally blacks out.

"Oh shit... Don't tell me they'll be out for five hours!" ElecMan says.

Glyde checks all three of them answering, "No, no, they won't. The rebound from keeping the portal open has only knocked them unconscious. They should wake up in a little bit."

"The thing is..." NovaMan says, "We don't even have 'a little bit'. That damn Bass Twin JUMPED INTO THE PORTAL!"

SearchMan says a bit surprised, "I can't believe I didn't even notice! She's a sneaky one."

"Damn!" ElecMan growls gritting his teeth, "She did that to reunite with Cadenza! Right now she'll only get in the way!"

In DenTech City, MegaMan and ProtoMan arrive at DenTech Academy, further from where Lan and the others currently are. Serious Nimbus arrives at SciLab, looking at the large building able to see that part of it has been destroyed, possibly by Hardy Quake. He flies over to one of the many holes and looks inside seeing Yuichiro staring outside not even noticing the Eagle Navi. Blackberry, however, took a wrong turn in the portal's stream and winds up at Yokayoka Hot Springs...landing in one of the springs. She quickly surfaces her face red from the hot spring and yelling in shock as she comically swims to the ledge, pulling herself up instantly. She flips onto her back panting, calming down rather quickly as she opens her eyes looking up at the sky. All Blackberry can see is the Dimensional Area spread around the world, and that's when she suddenly becomes cold, shaking like a leaf.

Footsteps can be heard from inside the bath house. The doors open to reveal a fairly banged up Tamako. Blackberry looks up at her as she continues to shiver. Tamako smiles as she grabs a thick towel and tosses it onto Blackberry. The young Bass Twin fumble with the towel managing to wrap herself in it like a catepillar wraps intself in a fine silk.

Tamako asks, "You're Blackberry, aren't you?"

Blackberry freaks replying, "Eep! Hw do you know my name?"

"Haha, calm down. I remember you from when you came here a long while ago with BurnerMan and PlantMan. What I want to know is, how did you get here? Come, you can explain on the way inside."

"Tell me you've got a fluffy coat program; it's freezing here!"

Meanwhile, in another part of town, Lan and the others had to exit the subway having found their way to a forested area. Chaud has recovered from being sent into the wall, and Cadenza has calmed down to a point. His stomach growls loudly begging for something. With everything flash frozen and now in a forest, it would be dificult to find baby Cadenza milk. Yahoot takes to the sky looking around for train tracks or a train station. Despite having increased eyesight he cannot see any kind of track with everything looking like ice. He flies back down to the group. They have no choice but to press foward and find another place to hide.

Back in the subway, Adamant Enigma has lost track of where Lan and the others have gone. He became confused while trying to follow the scents and took wrong turns leading him to flooded tunnels he couldn't traverse. He found how he was thrown off; each NetOp left a tuft of their fur or feathers behind, Mr. Match having to scrape himself against the walls. The Wendigo Navi grows tired of traversing the tunnels and decides to use the Enigma Cannon to blast his way through the ceiling and out of the surface of the ground. He jumps through the new hole landing on a rooftop of a tall building. He looks up at the sky seeing the sun is setting, knowing full well it will be dark soon. His best element will soon give him the advantage he needs.

Elsewhere, MegaMan and ProtoMan are able to sense the signals coming from their PETs, sensing the new program that was installed. ProtoMan is able to hack into it and obtain the Location Scanner. MegaMan, however, is unsuccessful in hacking the PET now needing to rely on ProtoMan to find the NetOps. Both Navis rush through the streets soon jumping onto rooftops to get a better view of the city. The Blue Bomber stops in his tracks getting a good look at his flash-frozen home. He clenches his fists and teeth, wanting to delete Adamant Enigma even more; he also sees the damage that the Wenigo Navi has caused. ProtoMan places a hand on MegaMan's shoulder, letting him know he feels the same way. Before they set off, MegaMan takes one more look at the damage, then follows the Red Navi.

At SciLab, Serious Nimbus has gotten Yuichiro's attention, telling him that he is on their side, not Adamant Enigma's. Although Yuichiro is skeptical, he sees that the Eagle Navi wants to help. Serious Nimbus requests the strongest weapon against Navis that SciLab has to offer so he may use it against his former leader. The scientists there think for a moment before one mentions the new project they were working on behind everyone's backs. Yuichiro quickly demands why the scientist said nothing, and he replies if he explained what he was working on, it'd be scrapped in an instant with everyone laughing at him.

The scientist says, "You know the Neko Virus from before? I took the virus and tried manipulating its data into something that could combat the new enemy. However, every attempt failed until I came across something that could actually combat Adamant Enigma."

"And what was that, Sasha?" Yuichiro demands.

"Remember how we kept receiving updates on when he was here? How we found out he turned Wily into a Hellhound Navi? Well, I actually came across scattered data of Wily and when I combined it with the manipulated virus data, I created a weapon that might be strong enough to combat Adamant Enigma." Sasha replies.

Serious Nimbus asks astonished, "Wait. What were you trying to manipulate the Neko Virus into?"

Sasha answers, "I did some research using a Virus that became trapped in SciLab's computer system. It gave me all the information it overheard Adamant Enigma say, how one of our native cryptids, the Baku, actually trapped him in this dream cloud and he found his way here where he became trapped in the Net. However, I couldn't manipulate the data enough to pull it off until I came across Wily's scattered data. I created the perfect weapon, but the problem is I couldn't convert it into a useful chip. It has to be placed onto a NetNavi or a CrossFusion. And this Dimensional Area is giving us an advantage."

"In that case, I'll use the weapon. I can sense Adamant Enigma from here, and with my speed I'll get to him in no time." Serious Nimbus says.

"Are you sure?" Yuichiro asks.

"I was created by the freak. I should have no problem controlling it." the Eagle Navi replies.

Meanwhile at Yokayoka Hot Springs, Blackberry has been given a Winter Program, and is now wearing a thick red winter coat with a kanji pattern reading "yuki [snow]", matching red ski pants, black boots, and red mittens. Tamako gives her a scarf, gently wrapping it around her neck. Blackberry thanks her, but before she can leave, Tamako tells her that she saw Lan and the others not too long ago in the forest nearby. The young Bass Twin is happy to learn she's not too far from her son and once again thanks Tamako before running off. Tamako watches as Blackberry heads to the forest, knowing full well that Adamany Enigma will show up. She looks up to the sky seeing the sun is setting, wishing HeavyMetalMan was with her.

The young Bass Twin races across the icy train tracks into the forest finally able to pick up on several PET signals and Baby Cadenza. As she rushes through the forest, she notices how frozen the trees are; each time she rubs against a branch it falls right off. Seeing how icy the forest floor is she activates the spikes in her boots, now able to grip the ground and run a bit faster. Just then, she hears an odd sound. She stops to look and suddenly through the trees sees Adamant Enigma in his true form running past her. Blackberry stands there paralyzed in fear as tge Wendigo Navi does a 360, turning around and soon staring her right in the face. She looks up at him, part of her face turning blue getting a cold sweat. He smiles evily at her before letting out a maniacle laugh.

Further in the forest, Lan and the others can hear Adamant Enigma's laugh. They turn in the direction it's coming from, Cadenza reaching in that direction. They know it's too soon to try and fight him, but what other choice do they have? They all know they can't keep running forever; they'll have to face him eventually. At the same time they hear a high pitched scream coming from the same direction. Lan knows who it is.

"The hell? Blackberry?" he says in surprise.

"Blackberry? How can that be her? The NetNavis are-" Raika tries to say before Blackberry screams again, a tree heard falling to the ground.

"That **is** her! Quick, we have to go save her!" Maddy says.

Chaud agrees, "I won't argue!"

Lan says, "Wait, we can't bring Cadenza with us. Adamant Enigma will delete him!"

Blackberry screams again prompting Dex to say, "We don't have a choice, Lan. It's better to go in numbers than to let one of us stay here like a sitting duck with Cadenza. He'll know to attack the lone member rather than take on the whole pack!"

"I'm going. If you guys are smart, you'll follow." Chaud announces taking off.

Yahoot follows taking flight, Mr. Match close behind. Lan looks at baby Cadenza who looks up at him almost begging to go save his mother. Unable to wait any longer Yai takes off being followed by Dex. Lan gets serious and looks up, soon taking off. Maddy stands watching, thinking they may not be able to survive the attack. As she follows the others bringing up the rear with Raika, she has a strong feeling one of them is going to be deleted. Another tree falls over breaking into multpile pieces like glass.

Adamant Enigma continues to chase Blackberry as she dodges most of his attacks, being smaller and faster than the other Navis. He attampts to use Puzzling Pause, but she counters with Ninja Smoke, throwing off his aim. He pulls out his Enigma Cannon firing several shots like a machine gun, blasting away more trees turning them into woodchips and snow. She uses her Holy Aura to try and protect herself from the attack, but it only protects her from the weaker blasts, causing her to constantly put it up. At one point he blasts her while her defense is down, and she falls to thje ground face first. As she pushes herself back up, he slams her back down with his foot, charging up the next blast aiming it at her head. But instead of firing the charged shot, he pulls the buster away, turning it back into a claw. He then bends down so his face is near her ear.

He says to her, "You know, blasting you into oblivion won't be enough. Instead, I'll eat you, bit by bit, so that I may absorb your power and make it mine."

Blackberry cries, "No no no, you can't do that! I have a baby to raise!"

"Oh I know you do, and I know you were created by that bastard, Serenade."

"Wha...? How can you...?"

"Oh please, the type of aura you put up, the kind of element that comes flying out of your buster...you've got the Light element just like he does, unlike your brother who controls Darkness. They are the only two Navis to control such rare elements...but I have an ultra rare element."

"Ultra rare?"

"Yes, it's called the-" Adamant Enigma goes to say before Chaud stabs him in the back through his chest with a FireSword continuing, "The piss off element!"

Blackberry asks in shock, "Wha...? Ch-Chaud? Is that you?"

Chaud uses the FireSword to lift Adamant Enigma off Blackberry. Yahoot swoops in using his large sharp talons to take the Wendigo Navi up into the air and hovers in place. Mr. Match quickly climbs up a tree, takes aim at Adamant Enigma and uses Fire Arm, shooting a flamethrower from his fist. Chaud jumps up into the air in front of the foe and slashes him several times with the FireSword before having to fall back down. Yai rides on Dex's back as he climbs up another tree, jumps onto the Wendigo Navi, wraps his arms around his body and begins to squeeze with all his might. Yai climbs onto Adamant Enigma's head and begins to scratch and slash at his face like mad. Maddy and Raika finally catch up each using their Navis special abilities; she is able to create her own polka dotted ball, and he is able to morph his arm into a sniper rifle. First Maddy sends the ball flying at Adamant Enigma with it staying in place and rolling like a tire that just flew off a truck, then Raika aims carefully before firing an endless round of shots at the foe.

Blackberry watches in shock as the battle begins to unfold, all the while Lan sneaks through the trees with the newborn. He keeps Cadenza from making a sound as he whistles over at the frightened Navi. She looks over seeing him and her baby, but doesn't become excited. She looks up at Adamant Enigma who is being bombarded with numerous attacks, then gets up and dashes over to Lan. As she closes in he reaches out, able to grab her arm and pull her over. Lan then hands over baby Cadenza, Blackberry instantly taking him back happy to see he's unharmed, nuzzling him to no end.


End file.
